Tears of a Butterfly
by OverGlowed
Summary: Kanao is alone. Saved by Kanae and Shinobu Kocho, she finds a new life, with a new home and school. Not to mention she's thrown headfirst into a series of 'assignments' for the Demon Slayer association. But things haven't changed inside, and she is still locked up by the memories of her past. That is, until she meets Tanjiro. Demon Slayer: Modern AU Edition. Cover art by me.
1. I: Alone

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Demon**__**Slayer:**__**Kimetsu**__**no**__**Yaiba**_** or any of its characters/story.**

_**/-**__**Tears of a Butterfly -/**_

_**I: Alone**_

_TTTTT_

_It hurts._

_I'm hungry._

_I'm sad._

_I feel hopeless._

_I'm in agony._

_I'm lonely._

_This was my life._

_But then one day, I heard a sound like a snap._

_And I never knew pain again._

_TTTTT_

"Useless little brat! Can't you do anything right?!"

Her parents were yelling at her again. This time, she wasn't even sure what it was that they wanted from her.

It was another hot day. They didn't have enough water to share with her, that's what her mother said, anyway. So she and her father drank the little water they had. She tried to stay cool, hiding under a small, dead tree that offered little protection.

It hurt, but she couldn't cry, because she didn't have any tears she could form, as much as she wanted to.

As it got hotter and closer to noon, she crawled to her home, a few logs as walls, with a torn cloth on top as a ceiling. Her parents were inside, lounging on cheaply-built chairs that someone from the richer people from the city must have given them, maybe from pity. To build themselves a reputation as 'kind', perhaps.

She curled up in a corner, head buried between her legs. Hearing footsteps approaching, she whimpered quietly. She already knew who it was, and anticipated the coming pain.

"Oh, what now? Too _tired_ to work? Get up, dammit!" Her father grabbed her arm. Walking outside, he threw her onto the ground. Grunting in pain, she lay there, not really wanting to move. What's the point? She'd just be thrown down again. She knew that the pain would come, over and over. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

Her father looked angry, but then he smirked. "I know, we'll just sell you. Could do with the extra cash, and you're useless anyway."

A flurry of emotion whipped through her like wind. She thought that her parents at least loved her enough to keep her around, and that's what kept her tethered to life. But she guessed they only had her so they could work her to death. And that's when she lost the last of her hope in the world.

Inside, she heard a sound like a snap, and all her pain disappeared.

_TTTTT_

Kanae and Shinobu Kocho walked down the busy road. They were out buying what they needed, and had finished. Now they were heading back to the Butterfly Estate, their home in the city.

That's when Kanae noticed something, and walked toward it. Shinobu, a bit confused at first, looked in the direction her sister was walking.

_Oh. _She saw a man, leading a small child with a _rope _of all things. No wonder her kind-hearted sister went to question. Shaking her head, smiling, she went to follow Kanae.

Kanae stopped the man. "Excuse me, do you have a minute?"

The man turned, and saw the sisters. Kanae continued. "Could you tell us why that child is tied up? Is she a criminal, perhaps?" Shinobu could tell from her sister's tone of voice that she is curious, albeit a little angry that the man would tie up a little girl like that.

Said man responded. "Isn't it obvious? She's flea-ridden, and her face is dirty. Not to mention, she might try to escape." He grunted impatiently as Kanae approached the girl, crouching to meet her height.

She smiled sweetly at the girl, who didn't show much emotion other than slight surprise. "Hello there, nice to meet you. My name is Kanae Kocho. What's your name?"

The girl stared blankly ahead, with eyes that held despair and suffering. She remained silent. Kanae's eyebrows creased in worry. This child must have been treated terribly.

The man gave Kanae a dirty look. He sighed angrily. "She's got no name, all right? Her parents never gave her one. Happy now? Get away from her!" He went to push her away, then felt someone slap his arm. Turning, he saw that it was the other woman.

Shinobu narrowed her brow at the man. "Please don't touch my sister."

He finally lost it. "What's your problem, you two? If you wanna talk to this kid, pay up!" At this, Shinobu smirked. "All right then, we'll purchase her." She reached into her jacket pocket. "Would this be enough?"

Throwing her hand out of her pocket, she tossed money everywhere. Bills and coins scattered across the ground. The man looked around, surprised. Shinobu used this as a diversion, and snatched the rope from the man's hand. Grabbing her sister's hand in her own, she ran.

"Hey get back here, dammit!" The man shouted after them.

She just smiled at him. "I'd pick it up right now if I were you! After all, there's a crowd here, and the wind is strong!"

Seeing Shinobu's cocky smile, Kanae furrowed her brow. "Are you sure about this?" Shinobu nodded. "It's fine."

Still, being polite, Kanae yelled at the distant form of the man and the crowd. "Please excuse us!"

The man was too busy yelling at the crowd to notice. "Hands off! It's my property!"

Kanae smiled anxiously. "Oh my, oh my…"

The girl, in the meantime stared in shock at the two sisters.

She was saved.

_TTTTT_

"Sister! Sister!"

She was sitting on the ground of the luxury apartment she was taken to, watching as a woman had a one-sided argument with her sister. The woman had black hair, dyed purple at the ends, done up with a butterfly pin. She had a white jacket, and a deep purple shirt and pants. This person also was the one who washed and clothed the girl, and tied her hair up into a side ponytail.

"Sister, this child is hopeless! She can't do anything without being told, and that goes for meals as well! She won't touch her food unless I tell her to eat, even as her stomach growls and growls!"

The girl cocked her head. Isn't following orders what she was supposed to do? Her parents drilled it into her that orders came first, then nothing else. _Feelings are useless and worthless._ Her father always said that to her, every day. But this person seems to think otherwise.

The other woman, the sister, was sitting on a couch nearby. She had long black hair, adorned with 2 butterfly pins on either side of her head. She had similar attire to the other person, but instead of a white jacket, she had a butterfly-pattern cardigan over her clothes.

"Oh my, oh my…" She turned to face her sister, who continued her rant.

"What exactly are we going to do with her? We can't just order her around all the time, it's not right!"

The woman with the cardigan smiled at her sister. "Now, now, don't be like that, okay? I just love that smile of yours, Shinobu."

The girl, who was still sitting on the ground and listening the entire time, committed to memory that the woman with the white jacket was Shinobu.

Said woman got frustrated. "But we can't do anything with a kid who can't even think for herself! It's dangerous, Kanae!"

Okay, so the other one is Kanae. The girl nodded ever so slightly to herself.

The two continued arguing, well, more like Shinobu arguing and Kanae dismissing her words with a kind smile.

"She can't do anything on her own! She can't decide for herself!"

Kanae walked over to the girl, something in her hand. She placed the object in the girl's hand. "All right, when you're on your own, you can decide by flipping this coin. Right, Kanao?"

The girl stared at the coin. Her name, it's Kanao. A sense of individuality came to her. Usually, her father just settled for 'girl' or 'brat', but these two people, they gave her a true name. And a coin for when she was alone and had to choose.

She didn't realize the two were still talking, until Kanae took her hand. "As long as it's given a chance, a person's soul will open up, so don't worry. When you fall in love with some boy someday, you'll change too, Kanao."

The girl- no, Kanao, stared curiously at Kanae. What is 'love'? Wasn't it that emotion where you care a lot about something? Yeah, that's it. She wasn't sure she'd be able to ever 'love' something.

But maybe, she thought, she could try.

_TTTTT_

**Sup. This may not seem like a **_**Modern **_**AU story, but it is, and that will definitely show in the next chapter. Same goes for this seeming like it's just rewriting scenes.**

**I really love Demon Slayer. Especially Kanao, she's probably my favourite character (Other than Tanjiro). I don't even know why I love her so much, I just do.**

**The Kanao/Tanjiro ship is something I also love. So this story will have a lot of that. I want to rewrite the scene from episode 26 (chapter 53 in the manga) when the two are talking, and Tanjiro is all like, "Follow your heart!" or something like that.**

**I should probably stop ranting about how I love the show and stuff…**

**Bye, and see you next chapter when it gets better!**


	2. II: Years

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Demon**__**Slayer :**__**Kimetsu**__**no**__**Yaiba**_** or any of its characters/story.**

**II: Years**

"Okay, Kanao. You're going to practice reading and writing today." Kanae smiled at the now 7-year-old Kanao.. "I'll get you some supplies, you just wait here." She walked out of the room that has become Kanao's.

Her room was large, this place alone probably bigger than her old home. There was a bed with simple white linen sheets and blankets, most likely for later personalization. The walls were a pale blue, with one wall having little painted butterflies dancing across it. She sat at a desk, brushing her fingers over the smooth, light wood absentmindedly.

Since she didn't have any belongings, Shinobu and Kanae gave her clothes and other little items. But she really only cared about the coin that Kanae gave her that day one year ago.

Kanao met a few people within the first few months of being at the place called the Butterfly Estate. Shinobu introduced her to the other girl that was living there. Her name was Aoi. She didn't really seem to trust Kanao, and wasn't particularly kind to her. But Kanae told her that Aoi needed a bit of time to warm up to people, and not to worry.

"Hey, I'm back." Kanae walked in, paper and pens in her hands. She set them on the desk in front of Kanao. "Okay. Today, we're going to see how much progress you made over the past year. From experience, it helps to know how much of a difference you've made." Kanao nodded.

Kanae smiled with a hint of sadness, at how she still hasn't talked on her own for either her or Shinobu. Sure, sometimes she'd flip her coin and speak to someone, but it just wasn't the same. She wished that Kanao would learn to talk without being ordered, but after the abuse, hiding her feelings was like a defense mechanism.

She watched as Kanao made perfect little letters in the looping cursive she was taught. She also wrote things like her name. _Kanao Tsuyuri_. It was difficult for them to come up with a last name for her. Aoi, despite not trusting Kanao at first, pestered Shinobu and Kanae to give Kanao _her _last name.

But they had finally decided on Tsuyuri. Kanae wasn't entirely sure whose idea it was, but it seemed to click into place, and as long as Kanao liked it it was okay with her.

She heard a faint sound, and realized Kanao was flipping her coin. She watched as it landed in her hand, and came up _tails_. Then she heard that soft, gentle voice. "I am finished, master."

Kanae folded her hands together in front of her. "Good job, Kanao. Now, onto reading." She pulled a book out of her bag. "I chose this for you, from the library. You didn't seem to have much preference, so I hope you like it." She smiled warmly.

Kanao held the book for a moment, staring at the cover, then opened it to the first page.

Kanae walked out of the room silently. At the end of the hall, Shinobu was waiting. "Anything yet?"

She shook her head. "She can't yet. But keep hope, sister. I'm sure that Kanao will meet someone who will bring her out of her shell."

...

Meanwhile, Kanao had finished the first chapter of the new book Kanae had given her. It was a simple but sad tale of young children living in a world of demons. Wearing that small smile that she usually used as a mask, she placed the book on her desk. Standing up, she walked to the large window that provided most of the light in the room.

Placing her fingertips gently onto the cold glass, she saw little snowflakes drifting through the air. _So winter has finally come. It's really been that long?_

Over a year since she came here. She could remember refusing to even eat, since she didn't want to steal these people's food. But they wanted her to eat, and they wanted her to talk. Have her own opinions. _I'm sorry Kanae, Shinobu, Aoi. But it's so hard to find feelings when they're buried so deep in the memories of a place I never want to see again. I just… can't do it._

She lowered her head, and took her now cold hand off the glass.

She sat back down at her desk, and picked up the pen. Then, she began to write once again.

_TTTTT _

8-year old Kanao was being pulled gently along by Shinobu, leading her to a store. They were getting supplies today, and Kanae thought it would be good for Kanao to see the 'outside world' more often.

So there they were. Shinobu was holding Kanao's hand, and they walked down the busy street. They got to a crosswalk, and had to wait to start moving again. Kanao looked around, lips parted slightly, at the city around her. At first, she wasn't really looking at anything in particular, but then she saw something that caught her amethyst eyes.

There was a family, waiting on the other side of the road. There was a mother, father, and six children. While most of the family was talking and laughing with each other, two of the kids were staring at their surroundings like she was. One had long, black hair done up with little pink ribbons, and a pink dress. She was holding the hand of a boy that looked about Kanao's age. He had a hoodie with a green and black checkered pattern, and deep red eyes that met her own from across the street.

"Come on, Kanao. We can walk now." Shinobu gave a gentle tug on Kanao's arm, and they started to walk again. But she was still looking at that boy, who was still looking at her as his family also started crossing the road, in the opposite direction. As they passed each other, he gave her a warm look.

"Your eyes are sad. Please smile."

Her mouth opened, then closed. She watched as the boy and his family passed by, then the corners of her lips upturned, just slightly. But it wasn't fake.

The boy, who was still watching her, grinned triumphantly. She almost wanted to laugh, but then she remembered what happened the last time she did.

"_What's so funny, brat?" Her father implanted a brutal kick to her side. She fell to the ground. The only thing that had made her laugh just moments ago was a reassuring, and cocky, grin her brother gave her. But her father had heard her, and he threw her brother into a stone wall. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. She crawled over to him, cradling his head that now had blood running down it. Looking up, she whimpered as her father approached, with a smug look on his face. She closed her eyes tight, and hugged her brother._

"_NIICHAN!"_

She gasped, and looked around. Still in the city, following Shinobu. Looking around for the boy, she finally saw him walking even further away. She wanted to go back, back to him, but she knew she had to go with her sister.

Even as they were so far away from each other, she could have sworn he mouthed the words, "It's okay. Let's meet again."

She repeated that in her head for the rest of the day.

_TTTTT_

"Kanao, we have something to tell you. It's about our true jobs."

13-year-old Kanao stood with Kanae and Shinobu in the living room, late at night. "We are vigilantes that fight against a gang known as the Demons. The Demon Slayer corps."

Shinobu crossed her arms. "Kanae wants you to fight with us."

Kanao cocked her head slightly, reaching into her pocket for her coin. But Kanae stopped her. "No need. Please, just ask whatever questions you may have."

She nodded. "What does this gang do?"

Shinobu answered. "Simple. Kill people. It depends on the member, but they all have a twisted reason of why they do so. Some people don't even think they're human."

Hiding her surprised reaction, she asked another question. "What skills are necessary to be in the corps, and where do I learn them?"

Kanae looked to her sister, then replied, "We're sending you to an academy that secretly teaches the ways of the corps. It's where Shinobu and I learned."

The questions and answers went on for a while, then eventually Kanao was told to go to sleep and that she'd leave for the school in about a week.

As she drifted into sleep, she heard Kanae's voice in her head.

"_The Demon Slayers protect the people, and ensure that nobody will ever die on their watch. We want you to fight with us."_

_An image of the boy from 5 years ago, who she never forgot, flashed into her mind._

"_Protect the innocent, Kanao."_

"_Save them, as we saved you."_

_TTTTT_

**Gah, I am so sorry….**

**So I discovered that I'm busy. Very. School decided that it wants to murder me, and I'm having a bit of a bad time. This was supposed to be out Sunday.**

**It was also my birthday on the 26th. Yay.**

**So I read this LoZ Fanfic called "Counting Stars", and it gave me the idea for this. I'm obviously not going to copy, but I got a lot of inspiration from it.**

**Also, this is probably not the product of my absolute BEST work, that goes to my other Fanfic, **_**When Destiny Calls**_**. I did some advertising for this fic over on that one, so I should do the same here.**

**Go read it. It's a **_**Seven Deadly Sins **_**fanfic about the 108th incarnation of Elizabeth. I think it has 8 or 9 chapters so far.**

**That's all, thank you for being patient. (Sorry again).**


	3. III: Kanae

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**III: Kanae**

Kanao sat patiently on the couch in the apartment's living room, waiting for Kanae and Shinobu's return. They were out on a mission today, although she wasn't entirely sure what those missions consisted of.

She decided (with her coin, of course) to get up and go to her room. She gently pushed open the door, and sat down at the polished-wood desk. _I might as well do something useful while I wait. So I don't get… nevermind. _Taking out her writing supplies, she began to draw.

It was an odd habit, and Kanao wasn't really sure where it came from. Neither did Kanae or Shinobu. But she certainly seemed to be good at it, as everyone always loved it when she drew, and would ask for her pictures. Especially Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho, the 3 new girls that were recently adopted into their family.

_Family… is that what we are?_ Her hand that was gripping the pen stilled. _No, I can't be. I'm just a nuisance… right? _The small writing utensil fell to the ground with a slight clatter against the hardwood floor. Images flashed into her mind, ones of her _other family_.

_I don't belong here. _That's all she thought for long minutes, sitting in her chair with her hands clasped at her chest. Then, she heard the front door open in the adjacent living room.

Knocked out of her thoughts, she walked out of her room, and stopped in front of Shinobu. But…

She gave a questioning look to the purple-haired demon slayer. _Where is Kanae?_

And Kanao's heart broke in two as Shinobu just shook her head, tears running down her face.

_TTTTT_

The funeral was short, solemn and simple.

Shinobu took Kanae's ashes, which were placed in a small pink box adorned with butterflies, and buried them underneath a Sakura tree. _Kanae's favourite tree, _Kanao remembered.

Even though the kind-hearted woman that had saved her was now gone, Kanao couldn't cry. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she physically _couldn't_. All she could do was clasp her hands, and look down at her feet, sweating.

Nobody had judged her for it. Even when she was the only one in the place left with dry cheeks, she was still respected. But inside the quiet girl who seemed fine from the outside, nothing was okay.

Her heart, which had slowly been healing over the years, had cracked once again. The woman she loved, her surrogate mother, the one who could somehow manage to find the abused girl among everyone else that one day in the streets, was gone. Taken too soon.

Now, even if she didn't say or do anything and seemed alright, Kanao was crying inside. Calling, begging for someone, _anyone _to help her, take pity on her. Maybe no one would.

_No._

She still had family. Her family, who would still support her even when one of their own was gone. Even if they lost everything.

But Kanao had a deep sense of _something _that was blocking her true happiness. When she told herself that everything would be fine, that _something, _maybe her own personal darkness, would counter and convince her otherwise.

_Your eyes are sad. Please smile._

_I'm sorry, but I just can't._

_TTTTTT_

_/-/ One Year Later… _

"I want to go."

Shinobu looked up at her in surprise. Had she just… but then she spotted the coin in between two of the girl's fingers, and sighed with a slight smile.

"Why do you want to." It wasn't a question.

Kanao looked down at her feet. "I feel like I need to somehow. And…" She left the words unspoken.

_Kanae would want it._

Shinobu glanced at her adopted sister, whose head was still lowered. A little while after the funeral, Kanao had taken one of Kanae's butterfly hairpins, and wore it in her own hair. Shinobu herself now wears her sister's old robe.

Shaking her head, the Demon Slayer reached out a hand, placing it on Kanao's chin and lifting the girl's head up.

"I'll have to train you a bit before we go. It won't be easy."

A flip of the coin. "I can handle it."

A sad smile. "I know."

Shinobu closed her eyes for a brief moment, thinking again of what Kanae would want.

_Let her go._ A soft voice in her ear.

"Alright Kanao. Let's start training."

The 14-year-old girl met her sister's eyes in surprise, as if she wasn't expecting her idea to actually be approved. "I… thank you, Shinobu."

"Don't thank me just yet."

_TTTTT  
_

_Aim. Fire. Reload._

The drill was burned into her brain, until she knew nothing else. Kanao was aware that it would be difficult training, but she couldn't help but feel like she was back in her old house, struggling to survive.

_Aim. Fire. Reload._

She stood in a room with a target, a bit of safety glass, a table with piles of ammo, and nothing more. The pistol Shinobu had given her fit into her hands almost perfectly, as if it was made to be there the whole time. Each shot hit either the center of the target, or very close.

_Aim. Fire. Reload._

After a while with nothing but her thoughts to accompany her, she set down the gun.

And switched to knives.

The drill was pretty much the same. Only after throwing the knife, she had to immediately grab another that she would have previously placed in the hidden pocket of her skirt, and swipe at a different target hanging on a string.

Minutes, or maybe hours later, she stopped. Sweat slid down the side of her face. A few stray strands of her dark hair fell across her eyes, having escaped from her ponytail.

_How long have I been doing this for?_

An eternity, it seemed. Mornings were for reading, writing, and other education. Evenings were for this… training. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to steady herself. Then she resumed.

_I need to get stronger. I need to-_

She got through about 10 rounds of each drill, until a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. "Kanao. You can stop now." Shinobu stood behind her, a grim look on her face. "You've been doing this for an extra two hours. You need a break. Actually, take tomorrow off."

Turning around to face her sister, she nodded. As much as the training sessions let her be alone with her thoughts, she couldn't go pulling muscles or collapsing from exhaustion. Both of those had happened before. Less and less now as the months went by, but still on occasions she'd find herself injured.

It really wasn't healthy, taking her emotions and turning them into energy for training.

"Okay, then you can go sleep now."

Another nod.

Shinobu turned, starting to walk away. "Oh, and in another 6 months, you're going to be participating in the Final Selection, which is the entrance exam for D.S. Academy." Throwing her head over her shoulder, she added, "It'll be more difficult than simply measuring skills. You'll have to be perceptive, too."

Her sister left the small room, leaving Kanao alone. After a few minutes of cleaning up the room, the dark-haired girl left too.

Now in her room, she opened the curtains. Silver moonlight flooded in, covering all surfaces. She gazed up at the stars, wondering if anyone else just like her was doing the same.

Moments later, she climbed into bed and fell asleep.

_TTTTT_

**What can I say? "I'm sorry" probably isn't good enough, and I have no explanation for why this story went on such a long hiatus. If anything, I should have more time on my hands to write thanks to the virus. But whatever.**

**For anyone who is reading both this story and **_**When Destiny Calls**_**, I am going to temporarily stop making chapters for WDC. It's too much for me to write two stories at once, and plus to be fully honest I have zero clue as to what I'm actually doing with that fic.**

**Sorry for the long wait, I should be back to weekly or semi-weekly (every other week) updates from now on.**

**Get ready for some darker stuff. A bit of swearing might occur in later chapters too. Violence too, obviously. I'm basing this off of a certain anime I've seen (other than Demon Slayer), and that anime is a little serious. So yeah, dark undertones coming your way.**

**See ya.**


	4. IV: Final Selection, Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**IV: Final Selection, Part One**

_Here I go._

Kanao grabbed small bundles of clothes out of her closet, and placed them on her bed. A black backpack sat next to the pile of supplies that she had packed for Final Selection.

It had already been around a year since she had started the harsh training assigned to her by Shinobu under what she guessed was Kanae's wishes. Still, she didn't regret any of it.

She was physically stronger, and could handle guns and knives with not much problem. Shinobu told her that she was a quick learner, and that's why she was already at a near-master level at handling the weapons. But after training every day without a break, it was no wonder that the girl had improved.

Her regular education was caught up to what it would have been if she was a normal girl enrolled in school.

_A normal girl. I don't think I could ever be that, no matter how much I was trained or taught._

Kanao shook her head slightly, clearing her head, and looked back to the task at hand. Grabbing a few articles of clothing, she opened her bag. After folding the clothes, she placed them in the bottom of the backpack. _What else can go in here? _Glancing around, her amethyst eyes landed on her sketchbook, which was sitting on her desk.

God, she hadn't drawn in ages. She doubted bringing it would really do anything for her, since she was fairly certain the Final Selection would have absolutely nothing to do with art. But regardless, she dropped it in the pocket along with the rest of the clothes.

A while later, Kanao found herself with a bag filled with extra supplies of all types, since she had no clue what the exam would actually consist of. Her gun was concealed by the folds of her jacket, and her knives were strapped at her chest.

Going into the bathroom, she grabbed her hairbrush and did her hair up into the side ponytail that Kanae had taught her all those years ago. Opening her mirror cupboard, she found the pink and green butterfly hairpin that once belonged to her sister. That too, always went in her hair. She finished clipping it in, and walked out to grab her bag.

"Kanao, it's time to go."

Glancing up, she found Shinobu leaning against the doorframe. It was talent, she supposed, how her elder sister could sneak around without anyone hearing anything. Maybe the Academy taught things like that, too.

With a small nod, she threw her backpack over her shoulder.

.

Sitting in the car, Kanao stared out the window. Buildings and trees greeted her on the other side. It was going to be a long ride, Shinobu had told her that, so she had her phone in her lap with headphones on her ears. The music playing was a preset playlist created by Kanae, since Kanao didn't have any preferences. She hadn't even _listened _to songs before, since her parents had deemed it unnecessary. Not that they could even afford it.

It was hard to think about her past. Usually at the slightest mention or thought of it, Kanao would shut her mind down in a way. It would often leave her still and staring ahead, eyes open but unseeing. Her sisters had swore when they first beheld her like that, curled up on the floor of her room, knees brought to her chest and eyes in a faraway place.

Still, no one seemed to mind too much, unless she stayed like that for too long without moving.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for her, the car ride was going to be a while.

/-/-/-/-/

With no emotion on her face, Kanao stood with Shinobu at the front gates of the academy.

The huge building, white in colour and surrounded by what she recognized were wisteria trees, was filled with people. She could easily see through the tall and narrow windows at least 25 people her age, give or take a year.

The guards posted at the gates took one look at Shinobu and gave them admission inside.

"Alright Kanao, you're staying here with your fellow students. I have to go with the other teachers." _That's right, _she thought, _Shinobu is a teacher here._ Her sister walked away, towards a line of adults that looked like the teachers of the school.

Kanao's gaze swept the room, landing on a few people that stood out. A dark-haired boy with a scar across his right cheek. A timid, golden-haired boy that clutched his yellow triangle-patterned sweater.

And….

Kanao's eyes widened, just a little.

A boy with familiar reddish black hair, and a flame-like scar on his forehead. Although his clothes were different, a blue cloud pattern hoodie, she could still see the boy from so long ago, the first person to make her smile after such a traumatizing life.

What was he doing here?

His eyes were staring straight ahead, at nothing in particular. Where was his family? His sister, that he seemed to love so much?

Under what conditions did he need to take this exam?

She realized she was staring, and turned her head to the side, ridding her face of emotion. In her peripheral vision, she glanced at the boy, who she didn't even know the name of. Maybe… if she talked to him, she could learn the answers to her questions?

"_Stupid girl! Nobody would bother speaking to the likes of you!" _Her father, in her mind, narrowed his eyes at her. _"How could you possibly think that-"_

"Hello."

Kanao's thoughts were cut off by the boy, who now stood in front of her. She met his eyes, remembering the warm crimson colour the instant she saw it again.

But she couldn't talk. Her throat had closed up, leaving her just staring at the boy. Although she wasn't sure why, it was too difficult to speak. Maybe if she pretended she was mute, like all the other times someone spoke to her, he'd leave. But did she really want him to go?

"You're that girl from a long time ago. How many years was it? 8?" He continued, apparently not minding that she didn't answer.

She gave a nod, albeit hesitantly. He remembered her? How did he possibly bother to recall a memory from that long ago? Her hand was in her pocket, where the coin lay waiting to be used.

"We haven't actually introduced each other. I'm Tanjiro Kamado."

She pulled out a small card from her pocket that Shinobu created for her in case anyone needed to know. Maybe her sister had thought prior to the exam that she wouldn't speak, and decided to save Kanao from situations like this.

Turning the card to show the boy, she lowered her eyes.

How did Tanjiro not care that she didn't talk?

He smiled, testing out her name. "Nice to meet you, Kanao."

She nodded, not really knowing what else to do.

The two stood together, not saying anything. Somehow it didn't feel awkward, though. She watched as two identical twins walked out to the front of the room, and silenced the future students. Taking turns speaking, they gave the welcome speech for the exam.

.

Shinobu stood between Giyuu and Muichiro, watching the speech boredly. The two by her sides weren't helping the case, since both were pretty quiet and didn't provide any entertainment for her.

Scanning the crowd, she found Kanao. She stood next to a boy with dark red hair. How she managed to approach someone, she didn't know. Or maybe the boy talked first.

After a long few minutes, the exam was about to start. It was quite simple, really. The students were to enter a forest terrain, filled with captured members of the Demons. The only objective was to survive for seven days.

Taking a deep breath, Shinobu watched as Kanao walked through the back doors and disappeared into the sea of people.

Time to see how well she had trained her adoptive sister.

/-/-/-/-/

**Hello, welcome to chapter 4. I got bored after a while, writing this entire thing in one sitting.**

**Don't have much to say about this one, other than "Get ready for next chapter."**

**So yeah, see you (hopefully) next week for chapter 5.**


	5. V: Final Selection, Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**V: Final Selection, Part Two**

The huge doors opened, and two workers led the many to-be students to the base of the mountain.

Apparently, each captured Demon member was injected with several tiny chips that would give them a deadly electric shock that would kill them if they decided to try and escape the mountain. The many wisteria trees marked the invisible line where the boundaries were.

The potential students had to survive seven days with these mafia members in order to pass the entrance exam. Or at least, the second part. A written exam was already mailed to them and finished.

Kanao looked around. The people around her were gearing up, placing guns and knives in belts. She checked her own gear, and ensured that she had everything in her backpack. Shinobu made sure she packed equipment for any situation. Rope, cloth, nails, almost anything Kanao could name.

Throwing on a black jacket that had a small blue butterfly patch over her chest, she picked up her bag. A speaker started counting down to start the test. She took a deep breath, preparing mentally and physically for the brutal seven days.

"3...2...1… begin the test!"

She dashed off along with everyone else, up the mountain. Immediately sprinting off to the left, she began the climb.

/-/-/-/-/

_**Day One**_

Her legs moved on their own after a while as Kanao debated the best way to survive. Her training allowed her to stay awake for 2 days and nights without sleep, but she'd eventually have to rest somewhere.

_So where?_

She came to a stop, surrounded by trees. The ground was still a bit slanted, as she hadn't quite reached the summit of the mountain. Everyone would probably try to go there, and the Demons would obviously go for the larger group. It'd be better to fly solo for the most part.

She backed up against a tree, glancing around with her peripheral vision and listening for anything unnatural. Her hands were in her pockets where small identical knives rested, patiently waiting to be used.

Every rustle of leaves made her freeze. Even if it was only the wind, it could also be a person.

After flipping her coin, she chose to move once again.

.

She crouched next to a large tree, narrowed eyes looking around. Suddenly, she heard a _swish _from the right. Instinctively rolling out of the way, a _thud_ sounded from the tree she was just beside moments ago. A black-handled knife was buried into the trunk, right where Kanao's heart would have been seconds prior.

Kanao whipped out her gun, loading it and getting ready to fire at anything that came her way. Another rustle, but this time more concealed, came from straight ahead. She saw the flash of the knife, and ducked to avoid it. Whipping her arm in the direction of the throw, she fired. Once, twice. But she didn't hit anything.

Cursing under her breath, she did a slow turn. Nothing else came her way. Keeping the pistol in her hand, she dashed off to another area.

.

That night, she climbed a tree. For about four hours, she sat concealed by the leaves, not moving. Eventually, she dozed off believing it was safe.

It wasn't safe.

A loud bang echoed, and Kanao saw blood. But it wasn't hers.

For underneath her tree was a fellow student, with a hole in his stomach and eyes unseeing. A tall man, dressed all in black, stood with a gun, a smirk on his face. _That must be a captured Demon member._

Kanao held her breath, not knowing if the man could hear her heart beating quickly in her chest. She silently held up her gun, glancing to a branch of her tree that could take her to another tree fast. Looking back over, she saw the man walking away. Aiming at his back, she fired.

Blood went everywhere. The man fell, and Kanao could only watch as his chest slowly stopped moving. One thought occupied her mind.

_I killed him._

_Gods, I actually killed him._

She hadn't really wanted to just slay him like that, only incapacitate him. Her hands felt shaky. She got up and moved to the adjacent tree she saw earlier, and continued hopping from branch to branch.

Finally, when she thought she was far enough away, she hid in a hollowed-out section of a tree. Someone probably made it when they took the exam.

For the rest of the night, she stared ahead, unable to sleep and wondering why the nonexistent blood on her hands felt so real.

/-/-/-/-/

_**The Third Day**_

It was very cold and windy. The second day, along with half of the third day was spent simply knocking out any Demons she saw, and hiding in trees or behind rocks. She hadn't made any more kills.

Kanao shivered. She had dressed in layers, but was still cold. The wind whipped around her face, tossing around her ponytail.

She had come across a few other students while travelling from one area of the mountain to the next, but most had either been dead or in hiding. Since she didn't want to get shot by a startled person mistaking her for a mafia member, she didn't speak to anyone. Not that she would anyway.

One of her seven knives was lost, after breaking the blade. She had stabbed a Demon member in the thigh, but she hadn't realized he was wearing metal plating on his legs and body. Her blade bent, useless against it, and she had to outrun the man. Eventually she managed to, using the surrounding area to her advantage. It was one of the scarier encounters of her second day.

She hadn't managed to sleep more than about two lucky hours, so the constant sprinting was taking a heavy toll on her body.

Kanao opened a tiny bag of food, and ate it quickly. After a drink from her water bottle, she moved once again.

/-/-/-/-/

_**The Sixth Day, Nighttime**_

She lay face down on the forest floor, a foot on her back and the barrel of a gun pressed to her head. It was due to exhaustion and injury that a particularly skilled Demon member finally got the better of her.

On the fifth day, Kanao had sprained her ankle while leaping through trees. It had rained the fourth day, so the tree was still wet. She had slipped, twisting her foot.

Now, with her head turned to the side, she wondered if dying was okay. Not many people would actually miss her. Shinobu and the others at the Butterfly Estate would, but no one else.

This mafia member had known all the tricks she used, and even the tiny blade built into her boot was stopped before it could stab him from behind. Now, he grinned as he took her knife from her hand. The knife that had poison coating it's surface.

_Okay. I suppose he didn't think of the ace up my sleeve for this situation. _

She winced, gasping out as the knife plunged into her thigh.

"I'll let you suffer. You certainly deserve it, little bitch." With the knife still in her leg, she watched as the man left. But she wasn't done. Panting, she pulled the knife out of her thigh, sitting up and throwing it at the escaping man with a near-perfect aim.

It struck him through the shoulder, knocking him out. _Apparently he isn't used to feeling pain._

She crawled to a nearby tree, and leaned heavily against it as she checked her leg. The wound wasn't horribly deep, but still dangerous. Kanao could feel the venom racing through her veins, and started to see spots of black.

Feeling around her mouth, she found the pill hidden in her teeth. The antidote to her own poison.

Her backpack was just out of reach, along with her water bottle. So she swallowed the pill without a drink, nearly choking.

There were bandages wrapped around her arms, but not because she was injured. It was for situations just like this, if she couldn't reach her bag. She took them, wrapping them tightly around her leg. Blood soaked through almost instantly.

Breathing shaky, she tried to stay awake. But eventually her eyes closed, and everything went black.

/-/-/-/-/

She floated in darkness, feeling cold and hot at the same time. Everything hurt. She could faintly hear a voice, calling out to her.

"_Kanao!"_

Waves of red danced across her vision, along with nausea.

"Kanao, wake up!"

She opened her eyes, resisting the urge to groan.

Familiar crimson eyes greeted her. She nearly sighed in relief. Tanjiro sat next to her, concern etched on his face. "I was running to a new spot when I found you unconscious against a tree. There was a Demon near you, also out. What happened?" He spoke quietly, as if he didn't want anyone to find them.

Kanao realized they were on a large and well-concealed tree branch, and judging by the light, it was around dawn of the seventh day.

She slowly sat up, trying to ignore the protest in her head and legs. Feeling around her pocket, she could find her coin. After flipping it (much to Tanjiro's confusion), she quietly told him about her fight.

Once she finished, she noticed he was holding his side. "You're hurt."

He shook his head, but she could tell something was off. She grabbed her bag, taking out the bandages. Tanjiro protested, but she moved his hand and examined the wound. A knife slash, not too deep but not shallow enough to close immediately.

She met his eyes in a silent question, and he nodded. Lifting the layers of his clothes up, she wrapped his injury carefully with the bandages.

He told her about his own encounter as she worked, and afterward they came up with a plan. They'd take turns watching while the other rests, and by the next morning they hopefully wouldn't have been attacked.

The plan worked, and Kanao internally sighed with happiness the next day when she heard the bell that signaled the end of the exam.

Waking Tanjiro, the two climbed down from their hiding spot and made their way down the mountain.

/-/-/-/-/

**Sup. Was that good? I didn't mean to go on for this long.**

**Holy, I can't believe how many favourites and followers this story is getting. I'm a fairly new author with only 3 stories (including this one), but none of my other fics not nearly as much love as this one.**

**I don't have time to say too much now, but thanks for reading.**


	6. VI: Post-Selection

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**VI: Post-Selection**

Well, she passed.

And everything hurt.

After the adrenaline from the last 7 days left her body, Kanao practically collapsed. _Nearly forgot I only had one good foot._ She didn't, however, want to use the crutches offered to her by whatever doctors were running around them.

She blushed slightly after realizing that she still hadn't let go of Tanjiro's hand. _I mean, he doesn't seem to want to let go of me, either. _

Sure enough, he wasn't content to stop leaning on her. He looked terrible. It could have been from the slash across his side, but she knew it was something deeper. The loss of his innocence maybe, after seeing just how bad people could be. After watching people get brutally killed right in front of him.

Eventually, they found themselves being seperated into adjacent medical rooms. Kanao couldn't help but think of the street crossing, where Shinobu pulled her one direction and Tanjiro was led in another. But they would see each other again…

Right?

For the rest of the checkup, she only responded with slight nods or shakes of her head to the doctors, eyes open but in a faraway place.

.

"Welcome back, and well done for surviving."

Kanao looked around. There were

four of them

left?

Sure enough, there was herself and Tanjiro, along with the terrified-looking blonde and the black-haired boy with the scar. Did everyone else die?

She kept her face emotionless as she tried to spot Shinobu in the room. It was quite easy, since there weren't nearly as many people in the huge hall as before. Her sister gave her a grim smile, then motioned for her to listen to the speech.

The twins continued, explaining how each new student (since they passed the test, she supposed) would be given their standard gear, and be measured for uniforms. They would also be allowed to select a weapon from the academy's giant collection. God knows where they get all of it.

But Kanao was exempted from that particular rule, as Shinobu was apparently to give her something.

So she watched as each student, including Tanjiro (who had finally let go of her, albeit hesitantly for whatever reason Kanao couldn't name), slowly approached the stage, where a table was being wheeled in by the black-uniformed workers that she saw literally everywhere in the school so far. Scattered across it was every kind of weapon in existence. Anything Kanao could name, it seemed to be there. _Were all these stolen from the demons, or do the academy students go on international missions?_

A hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that it was Shinobu. "We need to go somewhere, preferably not here. Let's go." Turning around without question, Kanao followed her sister.

.

The two stood in a hallway, just off from the main hall. Shinobu glanced around, most likely ensuring that no one else was around besides them.

Kanao met her sister's eyes, in question but also in understanding. This meeting was probably for Kanao's 'gift', whatever weapon was to be given to her.

"I can guess that you have an idea about why we're here." Shinobu reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out an object wrapped in white cloth. "This is for you," She said gently, giving Kanao the object. "Use it well, okay?"

The raven-haired new student slowly, almost hesitantly unwrapped it, revealing a small knife. The first word that came to her mind was _beautiful_. The blade was lightweight and sharp, with sakura flower patterns across the light grey blade. The handle was a dark material with a black leather grip, the crossguard extending outward with blue and white painted designs to make it look like a butterfly's wings.

As Kanao examined the blade, Shinobu gave one more piece of information.

"It was Kanae's favourite knife, given to her by our parents. She wanted you to have it."

Kanao looked up in shock, then smiled sadly. Taking out her coin and flipping it, she watched as it landed on _heads_. Then, she asked her question. _Kanae should have given it to Shinobu. They're family, after all. So…_

"Why me?"

She watched as her sister's eyes widened slightly with the unexpected question, then went a little glassy from unshed tears.

"I suppose," she told her with a soft smile, "You'll have to figure that out for yourself."

Subconsciously clutching the knife like a lifeline, Kanao said nothing as her sister left her alone in the hallway.

/-/-/-/-/

_One Week Later_

Walking alongside her sister, Kanao saw the academy once again in front of them.

The students have been given one week to heal up before coming to school for their first day. Although she still had a sprained ankle, she could, for the most part, walk normally. Of course, there was a cast holding her foot in place, so she limped a tiny bit, but it was still healing considerably quickly. _Probably thanks to the training. I've broken limbs but never bothered to take a break longer than a few days…_

Still an issue she had. She'd push herself too far, and it would come back to bite her quite fast. The only major example (although there were many smaller versions) of this would be when she had to go to a hospital from extensive training after breaking her right leg. It wasn't even that Shinobu or anyone else told her to. She just would. Almost as if there would be a punishment for not working. Like-

Suddenly, Kanao found herself in her old home. It was often that she'd find this place in her dreams, which would be more like nightmares by that point, but it is a bit usual to be here while awake in whatever _real world_ her body was still in.

Looking around, she saw everything just the way it was before. The folding chairs, the table with the broken leg, it was all there. She could also see her parents, standing over what she assumed was her younger self.

"_Brat! Why the hell aren't you working?!" _Her father was usually the one to do the yelling, while her mother would more often than not just stand beside him, disgusted or distasteful looks on her face.

Her younger self clutched her wrist, clearly in some pain. Although she didn't say a word, the answer to her father's question was obvious. _I'm hurt._

"_Well who cares? Go back to work, or I'll break your damn leg too!" _Her father narrowed his eyes at the girl on the ground. Her mother reached out to take her husband's wrist. _"Honey, if you break her leg, she won't be able to get up and work for us." _

Kanao's heart was gripped with anger. Even her mother, who was supposed to care for her daughter's well-being, only protected her because she didn't want her personal _assistant _to become unable to do all the jobs.

So her father had instead chosen to beat her face up, since she'd still be able to walk. Young Kanao had made no sound, not bothering to. It was too pointless to even attempt to stop it. That was normal, right?

"_Kanao? Hey, Kanao!"_

Her parents' voices turned into someone else's. Right, it was Shinobu's, wasn't it? She was in a memory, and had to get out.

Everything around her became too loud, threatening in a way. Her throat closed up, and it was all she could do to fall gently to her knees.

The ground opened up beneath her, and she was falling, falling…

"Kanao!"

With a gasp of breath, she opened her eyes which she didn't realize were closed in the first place. She was kneeling on the sidewalk, her sister's hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.

Shinobu looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

A nod, even though she wasn't really.

Her sister didn't look like she was buying it, but stiffly nodded and helped her up.

"Let's go then."

/-/-/-/-/

**Hello.**

**Sorry for any inconveniences last week, I just took that weekend off for Mother's Day. I do have a family that I should probably be spending time with, after all.**

**As for yesterday, I headed up to my cottage. No internet, and I forgot to make the document able to be edited offline. Whoops.**

**But we hit a milestone today, 50 followers! :D**

**Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed on this story, I appreciate it a lot. I never even dreamed that this story would be that popular.**

**Kind of uneventful chapter, but that's (hopefully) okay, since it's setting up some stuff. New story cover also, one I'm a lot more proud of.**

**Apparently the final chapter of the Demon Slayer manga is either out already or coming out. I don't think I'm ready, it's been a hard ride and I don't really want it to end. :'(**

**See y'all next week!**


	7. VII: Welcome

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**VII: Welcome**

"Class, please flip your textbooks to page 78. We're going to…"

Kanao listened as Shinobu droned on to the class about whatever set of math questions they were doing today. It was a bit odd for her to think that her sister would, in fact, teach regular classes alongside the Demon Slayer training. Actually, Kanao's entire class was filled with regular students. Apparently, the school doesn't have that many people that pass the Final Selection, so they bring in a bunch of normal people to fill that gap.

Eyeing the desk next to hers, she saw her seat partner Rose watching the lecture carefully. Shinobu had told Kanao that there was only one other Demon Slayer trainee in her class, and that she was a second-year. Supposedly, there were a ton of kids that passed the Final Selection last year, so all the second-year classes were full of Demon Slayers, not even having room for normal students to join them.

From what Kanao gathered, Rose was an interesting student. And that the two were polar opposites. While Rose is extroverted, friendly, and hardworking, she also nearly always found herself in some sort of trouble. The brunette wore her long hair up in twin pigtails, a streak of platinum blonde running through the right side. She was also, well, _petite_, only being around 4'11.

She also admired Kanao, even though they barely knew each other.

Somehow.

But she was the only other person in the class aside from Kanao who was a trainee, so it was only fair that the two were at least seated together.

Stifling a yawn, Kanao took out her supplies and did the worksheet she was given. After school, ideally, all the Demon Slayers had to stay behind to get to the 'real training'.

.

/-/ _Four Hours Later _/-/

"Alright. You are going to split into pairs, and practice your knife skills. Once you do a few rounds of that, the targets will be set up for shooting."

Kanao lined up with all the other trainees, listening as the twins from before told them their instructions Each student had gotten changed from their regular school uniform into the black shirt and pants/skirt of the Demon Slayers. They also had their weapons on them, ready for use. All years were there, 16, 17, and 18 year olds standing in the straight line.

She glanced around the room, if you could call it that. It was somehow even larger than the main hall, with soundproof walls and a polished hardwood floor. It was divided into several different sections by short padded barriers, each area seeming to be a different skill.

A teacher walked past the line, handing each person a small slip of paper. Once Kanao got hers, she unfolded it to reveal the number 26.

"Students, we have given you a slip of paper with a number. Your sparring partner is the one who has a number on their paper that matches yours. Now, pair up and begin the exercise."

All the people previously in a neat line proceeded to walk around, asking their peers if they have whatever number. Kanao was asked a few times by people if she had the matching number, but none of the people were a match.

Well, until one person came along.

"Hey again Kanao. Do you have this number?"

Tanjiro showed her his slip of paper. 26.

She turned hers around, showing the identical digit and nodding.

He smiled, putting the paper into his pocket. "I'm kind of glad I can be paired with someone I know, rather than a complete stranger." She nodded, wanting to express how oddly relieved she was that he was her partner, but saying nothing. It was unnecessary, and who'd really care anyway?

She pocketed the paper, and took out her knives. In her left hand was a standard-issue from the Final Selection, and in her right was Kanae's gift.

Tanjiro mirrored her, his blades flashing in the light as they were drawn.

A whistle was blown, and they started.

.

While Tanjiro was skilled, Kanao was superior with dual-wielding knives. The two fought on alongside all the other trainees for about 5 minutes straight, until she had him disarmed. During that decently long fight, neither of them had even broken much of a sweat.

_I wonder if he trained as hard as I did with this. Everyone else is tired, but he doesn't seem to be at all. _She watched as he picked up his weapons, which had fallen to the ground, and got in position for another round. She did the same, and they started once again.

.

This time, their battle went on for nearly 10 minutes straight, although it didn't feel nearly that long for her. She wondered why, and thought of something Kanae said once.

_Time flies when you're having fun._

Was she enjoying herself? Fighting was never really considered _fun _for her. Just something she had to do. But when she sparred with Tanjiro, it was a bit different. She felt as though she could try new moves, and didn't have to care if they went wrong. Not that she did. _Stick to what you know_. Always something she went by, those words her subconscious mind would often repeat.

They had finally finished, Kanao being victorious once again. Tanjiro didn't seem to care at all, only asking her how to do certain moves. A flip of her coin had her teaching him a few.

Maybe she _was_ having a bit of fun.

.

One change of partners, and a repeat of the chaotic number game later had Kanao up against Rose.

It was a long match, around 14 minutes of fast-paced fighting, until Kanao was beaten. Rose helped her pick up her knives, and proceeded to show her the move that beat her. Kanao hadn't even asked, but she had to admit it was a useful tidbit of information.

Another match later, and although Kanao was on the ground once again, the tip of Rose's blade pointed at her throat, it was a lot closer of a battle. Kanao had tried the maneuver Rose taught her just minutes before. What she didn't see coming was the counter that the brunette had up her sleeve.

Eventually all the students were ushered over to the next phase of the training, and gunshots were heard all over the room.

_TTTTT_

At the end of the day, Kanao was quite tired. Even though her stamina was considerable, it was still pretty exhausting to fight with people rather than targets.

Hence the car ride home with Shinobu being quiet.

She nearly fell asleep, but a voice in the back of her mind told her not to, just to stay awake rather than face the consequences.

Gazing out the window, she watched as buildings and trees passed by her view. She thought about different things, like how Tanjiro's family might be doing.

Eventually, she arrived home. Heading up to her room after eating dinner, she changed into a white long-sleeved nightgown and lay down in bed, pulling the covers over her and looking out her bedroom window.

After counting the stars for a while, she fell asleep.

_TTTTT_

**Well, welcome back.**

**I hope you aren't mad at me for putting an OC into the story. Don't worry though, she won't be a huge part, just a necessary one. For most of the story, it's just going to be Kanao and Tanjiro, along with Zenitsu and Inosuke.**

**I read the last chapter of Demon Slayer. It was cute, I admit a tiny bit underwhelming, but I heard somewhere that the author is having family issues. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I did like the manga overall. It was pretty good, a little predictable but hey, it's a Shounen.**

**See you next week, if I don't have a severe writer's block. ;)**


	8. VIII: Assignment

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**Oh, and just a side note. The seasons and time periods are weird (I had to try and figure it out too, oops), however just be aware that it's the start of spring right now.**

**VIII: Assignment**

A few months had passed. Four, she believed.

Everything was pretty much the same. School, training, come home, more self-inflicted training. Even if she was exhausted down to her bones, she would still drag herself to the room where she would already have equipment ready.

Now, Kanao found herself standing in the classroom, a little bit of time before the next school 'Practice' or whatever they decided to call it so it wouldn't be too suspicious for the normal students attending the academy.

Shinobu was in front of her, sitting at her desk with hands folded across her lap. "I assume you don't know why you're here." Kanao shook her head in a silent _no_. Her sister placed her elbows on the polished surface of the desk, intertwining her fingers and resting her head on them.

"You have an assignment. Or I suppose I could say 'mission', if you prefer."

Kanao's face didn't change at all on the outside, but inside she was shocked. It had been _months_, why would she only get her first mission now? Taking her coin out of her pocket, she watched as it flipped in the air and landed on the back of her hand. _Heads_.

Well, that was the side that basically meant _don't talk_. Oddly, she felt upset that she couldn't speak her mind. _But no, that's only if I'm allowed, and the coin told me not to…_

Shinobu watched her adopted sister, smiling sadly as she said, "You can speak, you know. I'm sure you have questions."

Rather suddenly, a question did come out of her mouth. "Why?"

Shinobu blinked. "Why?"

Kanao seemed to realize how weird that sounded, and apologised quickly with pink-tinted cheeks. "Um, nevermind. I meant… What is the mission?"

Her sister nodded, taking out a small black folder. "Here is your file. You are to accompany a few other students to a mansion said to have mafia activity. You aren't to go in unless needed. This is so that if the others are injured in battle, you can go inside to assist them in getting to medical care, and if needed, to fight alongside them."

Kanao opened the folder, seeing pictures and names across the several sheets of paper. After a bit of brief examination, she shut the file and held it at her side. "Who are the students I am to accompany?"

At this, her sister smirked. "Well, there should be three of them. But before that, I should let you know an important detail, There is a setup to this mission. One of the students is already there at the mansion, another is heading there, and the last one is waiting to leave alongside you. So really, I suppose you should be leaving now."

The unanswered question still shone in Kanao's eyes.

Shinobu grinned as she told her the names.

Kanao's eyes widened a little. _Inosuke Hashibira, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and… Tanjiro Kamado. _

"Did you happen to give me this mission, sister?" She didn't do anything, but Shinobu could practically see the raised eyebrows.

"Why yes, I did." She said maliciously, still beaming with innocence.

"And… and you gave him the same mission too?"

"Well no, he was already assigned. But I thought it would be, let's see, _fun_ to complete an assignment with someone you are acquainted with. I _am _in charge of where you get placed, you know."

Kanao just stayed silent, before Shinobu sent her on her way to meet up with Tanjiro, who she'd be accompanying.

.

"Why do I feel like we're purposely being put together by everyone…?" Tanjiro, as it turns out, also didn't know who the mysterious person escorting him would be.

The two walked along a dirt road, surrounded by farming fields. It felt very quiet and peaceful, which was a nice change from the bustling city.

Kanao shrugged slightly. It _was _odd, but she wouldn't dwell on it.

As they kept strolling along the path, an interesting scene came into view. A familiar blonde boy, on his knees, was yelling something at a dark-haired girl.

Tanjiro ran straight for them, Kanao hesitantly following at a slower pace.

"Marry me!" Oh. _That's _what the blonde was shouting.

The girl looked very annoyed, as an understatement. Kanao could nearly _see _the frustration radiating off of her.

"For the last time, NO! I am _not_ marrying you!" She crossed her arms.

The boy, who was still on the ground, was picked up by the back of his shirt by Tanjiro, who had reached them by that point. "Can't you tell that she doesn't want to?! Where did you even meet her?"

He narrowed his brow at the blonde, who looked shocked and confused. The boy seemed to realize who Tanjiro was. "Oh, are you the student that was supposed to meet me here? Maybe you can help me persuade this girl that I am a handsome young man who she should marry!"

At this, the two started arguing. Kanao had come over to the dark-haired girl, who almost looked relieved to have the boy taken off her hands. "I met him here around 5 minutes ago. He was lying down at the side of the road, so I wanted to know if he was okay. Then he just kept asking me to be his wife…?"

She threw a sidelong glance at Kanao. "I'm just happy you and your boyfriend got here to help me. I'm not sure what I would've done."

Kanao's mind stopped. And so did her breathing, apparently.

_Boyfriend…?_

It was all she could do to shake her head rapidly, hoping the other girl would get her message. _We are not dating, that isn't right… I can't be dating him… how would that ever happen… _

The girl looked at her, confused. "You _aren't_ dating? Oh god, I'm so sorry, it must be weird for you to think of that…"

So while Tanjiro and the blonde boy argued, the raven-haired girl tried to get Kanao out of her temporary stroke.

.

"When did you even _meet_ her?!"

"5 minutes ago, okay?!" 

"5 MINUTES AGO?! How does that even… why would you _possibly_ think that this girl, who you met _5 minutes _ago, wants to _marry you_?"

"She's clearly in love with me! She asked if I was okay when I collapsed on the side of this very road!"

Tanjiro threw up his arms in exasperation, letting go of the boy's shirt and letting him fall to the ground with a _thud_. "You know what? I… nevermind. But one thing you should probably have enough common sense to know is that _you can't marry someone you just met!_"

"Is that a challenge?"

"NO! Why on Earth would that even…?" He sighed, composing himself a little. "Alright, your odd marriage complex aside,"

"It's not a marriage complex!"

"Yeah, yeah. Your odd sense of time in a relationship aside, are you Zenitsu Agatsuma, student of-"

"Nintendo Academy?"

Tanjiro blinked. "Excuse me, what?"

"D.S. Academy, yes I'm from there. Yes, I was sent on a mission. Yes, I'm Zenitsu. And _yes_, I am supposed to be at the mansion by now, but I had a holdup."

"One you caused."

"Maybe, but that's not very important."

"I- Okay." He sighed. "Well, since you're here and not at the _site of the mission_, Kanao and I will just have to go with you there."

"Who's Kanao? Heck, what is _your _name?"

"I'm Tanjiro Kamado, which you should have read on the _mission file? _Kanao is the girl I'm travelling with here, she's-" His gaze stopped on her, sitting on the ground and blushing furiously.

"Um, Kanao?"

.

Kanao had finally calmed down, at least a little bit. Tanjiro introduced her to Zenitsu, who immediately started flirting with her (much to everyone's annoyance). When Tanjiro, very irritated by this point, asked what happened to his proposal to the other girl, Zenitsu started asking her to marry him once again.

"For the last time, no! I already have a fiance you idiot! I only checked on you because it was the _reasonable_ thing someone would do, not because I'm in love with _you! _Since you seem to be fine now, I'm leaving! Goodbye!"

She gave a grateful and sympathetic look to Kanao and Tanjiro, who now had to deal with him, before marching off.

Zenitsu shouted after her, eventually having to be dragged off by Kanao and Tanjiro so they could actually _complete_ the mission they were assigned.

_TTTTT_

**Well that took a while.**

**I started writing this chapter at around 11:00, and now, at 2:23, I am finished. It shouldn't even be possible to write that slowly, but okay then.**

**Hoo boy…**

**Anyway, I love writing these fun little comic relief scenes, along with fighting scenes. Everything else? A bit boring, but I will write it if necessary. I have somehow been persuaded to add more weird references and funny concepts into this fic, which is supposed to be dark and serious. That's hopefully alright.**

**See you next week.**


	9. IX: Mansion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of it's characters/story.**

**IX: Mansion**

The trio kept walking down the dirt road, until they could see a house coming up.

Really, the house only got bigger and more intimidating as they approached. It was huge, with a light brown exterior and small windows. The roof was a darker shade of brown, almost black. A balcony was protruding from the center of the house, the railings painted black.

"Well, I suppose we should figure out where this Inosuke Hashibira guy is." Tanjiro stated, already scanning the area. Kanao followed suit, walking a little ways away from the group but ensuring she was still in sight of the others while at the same time glancing around.

Zenitsu did (eventually) start to look for the unknown student, while quietly complaining about how you can't really search for someone you've never actually _seen _before.

After a few minutes, they regrouped with no result.

"We should probably just head inside. Maybe he's already there." Tanjiro gave a slight shrug. The action was more towards Zenitsu, since Kanao couldn't actually go inside unless necessary.

The blonde boy agreed, while at the same time shivering in what Kanao assumed was fear. Well, he wasn't complaining at least.

"Stay safe Kanao, we'll be out soon." Tanjiro smiled at her, before turning to half-drag Zenitsu inside the mansion.

She just stared after them, the unsaid statement fresh in her mind.

_I'm not the one that needs to stay safe. Please be careful, Zenitsu, Tanjiro._

_/-/-/-/-/_

She stood around for about an hour, curious of what could be going on inside the old building. She didn't really need to entertain herself, so she just waited and watched her surroundings.

A slightly muffled shout came from inside, rather suddenly. It woke Kanao out of her half-dozed state, instincts kicking in to see what happened.

She ran to the nearest window, crouching down on her knees and peering into the room. It was dimly lit, and as far as she could see, there was nobody in the room. After checking twice just to make sure, she moved to the next window.

.

"Cruel, isn't it?"

Kanao, after finishing her look in the 8th window along the garden, heard a voice. It sounded deep and smooth, definitely a man's voice. It also sounded like it wasn't directed towards her, rather to someone else.

"What do you want?"

This voice was different, familiar. After a moment, Kanao realized it was Tanjiro's. Something she found concerning, however, was the fact that his voice seemed pained. _He must be confronting an enemy, which is the other voice._

Said voice laughed humorlessly. "What do _I _want? No, that doesn't matter. You see, the boss has given me an... _interesting _mission to carry out. The information he had was intriguing, to say the least."

Kanao figured out that the voice was coming from a second floor room, and stood on the ledge of a different window in order to see through the one above it.

Through the window was a large room, Tanjiro on one end looking a little pale and gripping his arm. On the other side of the room was a man with long reddish hair and a cream-coloured mask with four red eyes that covered his entire face. He wore an expensive-looking business suit, jacket undone to reveal a crimson shirt underneath.

"What information?" Tanjiro had his gun in his (injured?) hand, pointed at the ground. Kanao knew that he could aim it at a target and shoot within the span of about three seconds, but was worried about how the gun was in the hand of the hurt arm.

"It's about _you_." The masked man replied, an obvious smirk in his voice. Tanjiro's face paled even more than before, and the hand holding the gun began to shake slightly.

"You see," the man continued, waving a hand outward, "I've been given what you people might call _a second chance_. The boss wanted me to torment you a little, then capture you dead or alive."

"And what does this information about me have anything to do with that?" Kanao got the feeling that Tanjiro already knew _exactly _what the information had to do with it.

The man pulled out what looked like a smoke bomb from his pocket.

"Oh, this information has _much _to do with this. I know who you are, _Tanjiro Kamado_. I know what happened those years ago. You know what I mean."

He threw the bomb. When it hit the ground, Kanao leapt off the window and covered her ears. An explosion sounded, but only the type of explosion that comes from gas bombs.

She got back up after an unknown period of time, once again going to stand up on the windowsill to see what happened in the room. All that was in her vision was grey smoke, then it cleared.

Tanjiro was on his knees, swaying slightly and having dropped his gun. The man, who walked slowly toward him, was seemingly unaffected by whatever the blast was, probably because of his mask having some sort of feature to block and filter out air.

Kanao was a little scared for Tanjiro and wanted to know what happened, but the masked man answered for her.

"That isn't going to hurt you. Just make you... dizzy, I suppose. Feel like the walls are shifting to become the floor and whatnot. I don't want you putting up a _fight_, now do I?" He walked around Tanjiro once, then headed back to the front of the room.

Kanao debated whether or not she should go inside to help him, but after a flip of her coin she stayed in hiding. She'd run in to help once things got worse, since they almost always did.

"You do have tough luck, I'll give you that. Coming home to find your family _murdered_, and your only surviving sister is now in a _coma_." The man laughed.

She didn't know if she heard that right.

Tanjiro's family...

Murdered...

Sister...

Coma...

Her eyes widened, and she finally realized why his last name seemed so familiar when they had first met.

_._

_Kanao sat on the couch, reading a book that she was told to read. Shinobu stood in the kitchen making breakfast, spatula in one hand and mug of tea in the other._

_Aoi burst through the door, having just come from the lobby of their apartment in order to pick up the newspaper._

"_Shinobu! Look at this!" She panted, having just sprinted up several flights of stairs._

_Her sister grabbed the newspaper Aoi had set on the table, reading the headline and sighing sadly. Seeing Kanao's curious expression, she turned the paper to show her. "Well, what's the harm..." she muttered as Kanao read the bold title._

_**Five Dead, Two Missing in Kamado Family's Murder**_

_She read the headline a few times, unable to really believe that someone would kill so many people._

_A flip of her coin had her asking why someone would do that._

"_It's because they're bad people. Bad people that need to be found by justice." Shinobu had replied, eyes burning with a determined fire. "One day, you'll understand."_

_._

Her lips were parted in a silent gasp as she stared at Tanjiro. How could someone who was so kind and caring have such a horrible turn in their life?

His hand was moving slowly and shakily toward the gun he dropped. Picking it up, he tried to stand. He almost immediately fell back down, the drug supposedly not worn off yet.

The masked man crossed his arms. "Come at me all you want, you aren't going to be able to-"

He was cut off with a gunshot piercing the air. And from the looks of it, it also pierced his stomach. He fell to the ground, still conscious.

Kanao whipped her head to the other side of the room, where Tanjiro knelt with the gun in both his slightly shaky hands. "You've just taken your first step into hell." His voice was cold, but he also sounded sad in a way.

Kanao saw the tears gathered in his eyes, not falling but instead shimmering in place. "You think I don't know this? You weren't the one that walked into your home only to find _dead bodies_ littering the ground! The bodies of your _mother and siblings_, who couldn't do a_ thing _against the cold-blooded murderer!"

He didn't try to stand, but instead crawled over to a pile of papers scattered across the ground. "I was reading these as you talked. You know what it's like to feel pain inside too, don't you? This story, it seems like you've been working on it for years. And from the looks of it, you were turned down and insulted within seconds."

The man's mask had fallen off, revealing a person that looked to be in their 40's, with one of his eyes bearing what looked like a crossed out number. "Yes... I guess you - you could say I was... rejected twice..."

Tanjiro smiled sadly. Kanao wondered how his mood could change from cold to warm so quickly.

"Just so you know, I liked your story." He said.

The man's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Thank... you..."

His eyes turned grey and hollow, and Kanao knew he was dead.

_/-/-/-/-/_

"You might be wondering why I never told you."

Kanao looked up to meet Tanjiro's eyes.

She gave a silent answer in her eyes._ I am curious, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to._

The two were sitting in that room, Kanao wanting to make sure he was alright. Other than the odd toxin (if you could call it that) in his system and the arm that was a bit bruised, he seemed to be fine.

Well, until she found the two broken ribs he had tried to hide from her.

Apparently in the short period of time that Kanao wasn't keeping an eye on the window, the man threw a few punches. Or something like that. She got the idea that even Tanjiro didn't know exactly what happened.

"Everything he said was true. I was coming home from my part-time job one day to find that my family was - was dead." He winced as Kanao tightened the bandages around his ribs.

"After figuring out that Nezuko - that's my sister - was still alive, I tried to carry her to the hospital. This man named Giyuu stopped me, said that if I brought her to a public clinic, the organization would just go after her once again, and probably succeeded in killing her. He gave me directions to a man named Urokodaki, who is taking care of Nezuko now. He also taught me everything before I came to the academy for Final Selection."

He turned his head, hiding his face. "I...I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't just go and tell you all that, you-"

_Ping._

The coin landed in her hand, then was pocketed after being glanced at.

"It's okay. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me." Her soft, quiet voice echoed throughout the fairly large room.

What he did next surprised her a bit. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. She hesitantly placed her arms on his back, not really being hugged enough to have perfectly figured out the concept.

"Thanks, Kanao."

_You're welcome, Tanjiro. _It was left unsaid but still clear.

.

After a while, they left the room to go find Zenitsu and maybe Inosuke.

Tanjiro explained to Kanao that there were two little kids, Teruko and Shoichi, whose brother Kiyoshi was seemingly taken by the masked man. Apparently he and Zenitsu were separated, each with a kid in tow, but eventually Tanjiro managed to find Kiyoshi and leave Teruko with them. He then left to go find the 'ringleader' of the mansion.

Once they got to a door, Kanao left under the pretence that she still had a job to stay outside. Tanjiro continued on to find his classmates.

Now standing back outside, she waited once again for her fellow Demon Slayers to come back outside.

She wasn't concerned, since she knew they'd come eventually.

_TTTTT_

**I am sorry for the short little missed week, I was honestly a bit lazy that day (no, I don't have any valid excuse).**

**Well, this chapter is out. I think it's one of the longest chapters I've done, and here I thought it was going to be too short. I wrote this on my phone (on Notepad of all things, too…) since I was at my cottage (which has no internet) for a few nights and just got back today. If anything is wrong with this chapter, story or grammar, please let me know so I can fix it. I got really tired with this, so my editing probably wasn't the greatest.**

**I don't like writing excessively long chapters, instead I like to keep them a bit short. I feel like if you're putting aside a few minutes every Saturday/Sunday to read this/another story, you should at least not have to scroll for 15 minutes straight to get to the end of the 100,000 word chapter (yes, I've seen stories with chapters either that long or even longer).**

**Anyway, see you guys next week (perhaps)!**


	10. X: Wisteria

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**X: Wisteria**

A little while later, Zenitsu and Inosuke came outside.

Of course, they started arguing immediately.

Kanao took that time to examine her fellow student. Inosuke wasn't wearing the uniform (she wondered how Zenitsu and Tanjiro managed to figure out who he is), and didn't even have a shirt on. His head was covered by a boar mask. She decided that his backstory would surely be _interesting_, to say the least. But she can't just say that aloud.

As for what the two in front of her were arguing about, she wasn't sure. It looked like Zenitsu was trying to protect something. Then his arms shifted slightly, and she saw what it was.

A small pouch, deep brown in colour and with black designs around the top and bottom. Then she paid more attention to what they were saying.

"No, you're not taking this! Tanjiro told me to protect it!" Zenitsu turned his body away to shield the object.

_Okay, so the object, whatever it is, must belong to Tanjiro._

Inosuke fought him to try and get the pouch. "Don't you know what's even in there?!"

"Yeah, I'm aware that there's a-"

"What are you doing?!" Suddenly, Tanjiro came outside, 3 kids trailing him. He dashed up to Inosuke (who Kanao wasn't getting a particularly fond impression of), and stood between him and Zenitsu.

"You have to know what is in there, and yet you still carry it with you?" Inosuke proceeded to get brutally punched in the stomach by Tanjiro, which started _their_ long fight. Kanao stood perfectly still like a deer in headlights, unsure of whether or not she should step in to break them up.

"I need it for my own reasons, ones that maybe you could _listen to and let me explain_!"

Kanao's hand reached into her pocket, pulling out her coin. Resting it on top of her thumb like she always did, she flipped it into the air. _Heads is stop the fight, Tails is don't._

Seeing the outcome, she sighed and placed the coin back in her pocket. Then she watched as her fellow students clashed.

.

After a little _too_ long, Inosuke was on the ground half-conscious. Tanjiro didn't look much better, and neither did Zenitsu. _I guess this could be _one _reason I was put on this job._

Inosuke's mask was off, revealing an almost feminine face along with dark hair that had blue dye at the bottom. Where the odd boar mask was, Kanao didn't know.

She finally moved, rushing over to Tanjiro first to check him over. He had further broken his ribs thanks to the fight, but he was okay other than that. Zenitsu was in pretty much the same situation. Inosuke also had broken ribs, but he seemed to have a concussion too. She wouldn't know until he woke up.

Tanjiro then told her and Zenitsu about all the people he found dead inside the house. No wonder he looked a bit shaken.

After a lot of digging with some shovels they found, the three had made enough holes for graves. Then, after a quick search through the house to ensure there were no more enemies, they gently carried the people to the graves and rested them inside.

.

Inosuke had woken up to find them doing this. The first thing he did was ask Tanjiro what they were doing, and the second thing was ask him to fight.

Naturally, Tanjiro ignored the second thing.

Ultimately, they all managed to get Inosuke to help them out with the burial.

.

Now finished, they walked down the dirt road once again. Eventually the four stopped at a nice-looking house with a wisteria crest engraved on the front gate.

"Oh, I've heard about these. Apparently houses with this on the gate are always willing to help Demon Slayers out, since they were saved by us." Zenitsu explained.

Kanao took responsibility and pressed the doorbell.

An elderly lady answered the door, spying their uniforms and immediately allowing them inside. She showed them around the house, giving them a change of clothes and having a doctor come to check over their injuries.

Because Kanao wasn't injured, she decided with her coin to help out the lady with caring for her fellow students. They were all given a delicious meal, too.

Afterwards, she was shown her own room while Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were given another.

Pulling the covers over her, she fell asleep slowly.

_TTTTT_

_Kanao stood in her apartment room._

_It was freezing, and everything in her peripheral vision looked a bit fuzzy. It was also raining outside, but oddly she couldn't see anything out the window but the rain. No streets, just a black void._

_The door creaked open by itself, revealing Kanae with her arms in front of her, hands folded together. "Kanao, let's work on our reading and writing. I'm sure you've gotten even better." Her voice was the same as usual, but something still felt very, very, wrong._

"_You're… You're dead." Kanao stuttered._

_Kanae smiled. "It was your fault, you know. The demon that killed me wanted to kill you."_

"_I- I'm sorry, I didn't want you to-"_

"_Sorry won't cut it." Kanae's voice turned ice cold, and her eyes narrowed. "You'd have to die if you want to repay me." She lunged forward, her knife in hand. The knife she'd given to Shinobu to give to Kanao._

_Right before it pierced her heart, Kanao was thrown into another place she knew all too well. Her childhood home._

_Except, something was different here too. Of course, she was there, being beaten by her father. But standing in the doorway was a young Tanjiro, in the same clothes as when she first met him on that crosswalk._

"_My family is dead now, and my sister is in a coma. It's your fault. Maybe if we hadn't met, the demon wouldn't have killed them." His voice cut through her heart._

"_Tanjiro, I-"_

"_You really should die. Who'd miss you, anyway?" He held up a gun aimed at her head, and a loud _bang_ echoed before everything went black._

_TTTTT_

Kanao woke up with a start like she usually did. Cold sweat ran down her back as she thought about the new part to her nightmare. The information that Tanjiro's family was dead really didn't seem to be helping with her sleep.

She _knew_ it wasn't her fault. There was no way it could possibly have been, and there was no way she could've prevented it. But even still, a feeling of guilt nagged at the back of her mind.

Unable to go back to sleep, she opened the window of her room, and after some maneuvering, found herself on the rooftop of the wisteria house.

Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she saw that it was quite late at night. No one should be up.

_Should_ being the keyword.

She heard a sound similar to when she opened her window, but she ignored it, lost in thought. _Maybe… maybe it _was_ my fault. If I had-_

"Kanao? I didn't expect to see you up here."

Whipping her head to the side, she came face-to-face with Tanjiro, who sat down next to her.

She gestured to her phone, which she turned back on to show Tanjiro the time. Then she cocked her head to the side slightly.

"Well, I… couldn't really sleep."

Quickly flipping her coin, she decided to talk to him. "Me neither."

He looked happy that she spoke to him. "Often in my old home, I'd climb up on the roof if I had a bad dream so that I could- ...Kanao?"

She had gone pale at the words 'Old home', and started to do her usual shut down defense mechanism. Although, she'd never done it in front of Tanjiro before.

"Kanao, are you okay? Hey, can you hear me?" He waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she stayed in the same position, amethyst eyes in a faraway place. Her own hand was shaking slightly.

Tanjiro finally decided that there was nothing he could do about it, so he turned his head toward the stars. The two sat in silence for a little while, until Kanao managed to come out of her numb state.

"I'm sorry." She quietly said at his anxious expression. "It's a normal thing. Please don't be concerned."

At that, he just smiled sadly. "How could I not? You're my friend, Kanao."

Her breath stopped. She was… his friend?

He seemed to notice her surprise. "What, you didn't think that after all this time, I still wouldn't care about you at all?"

_It wasn't that, I just… _an image of the young Tanjiro from her nightmare appeared in her mind. "I just don't think I deserve it." She didn't mean to say it aloud, and regretted it a little when she saw his slightly hurt expression. "Of course you do. What have you done to not deserve it? You've helped me out so many times."

"Do you think I could have prevented it?" She locked eyes with him.

He knew exactly what she meant. "No one could have. If anything, it's my fault they're gone. Mine and the one who killed them."

She went quiet for a little while, turning her head back to the sky. Then, "It wasn't your fault either. You were just doing your job, and the person who killed them is fully responsible for this." It was simply a fact, nothing from her heart. Right?

Tanjiro closed his eyes, hands clenched into shaky fists. "I think- I think I really needed to hear that. Thanks, Kanao."

Her lips upturned into a small smile.

She glanced over, seeing him yawn. She silently asked _tired?_

"Mhm… I guess it's about time, anyway…" He gently fell against the side of her body, and was asleep within moments. Her eyes widened in surprise, then shone with something she would never be able to explain.

Not wanting to wake him up, she debated (with her coin) taking him to his room. She chose to do just that, but…

She knew it was selfish, but she wanted to be with him like this, for just a little while.

_TTTTT_

**Credit to Bizcooitz for the inspiration for the entire last scene there. **

**Well, not much to say. I'll admit that Kanao is warming up to Tanjiro **_**much **_**quicker than I originally wanted her to, so maybe it's a tad bit OOC for her. But then again, this is an AU so I can do whatever I want :)**

**I am also now one chapter behind in my planning. It was really only because the last chapter carried out for a while, but honestly I'm happy that I am behind (somehow).**

**Next week's chapter will be another important scene for Tanjiro and Kanao, so stay tuned!**


	11. XI: Nezuko

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**Side note: I fixed the last scene of the previous chapter, please go read it again so that I'm not accused of being too OOC. I felt like it was too much too early in the story, so I'd like it if you read just that last part again (it's minor changes, but still important).**

**XI: Nezuko**

After who knows how much time passed, Kanao gently picked up Tanjiro and went to his room, dropping him off onto his bed. She saw that Zenitsu and Inosuke were asleep too, so she quietly leapt back through the window.

Running back across the rooftop with silent footsteps, she found herself back in her room.

She was also once again tired, so she lay down on her bed and fell asleep only moments later.

.

The next day had come, and it was time for the four to head back to the academy. They thanked the lady for taking care of them (well, more like Kanao, Zenitsu, and Tanjiro thanked her while Inosuke stood confused the whole time), then after a long time of walking, saw the academy come into sight.

Once they reached the front gate, each of them went to their different classes, as if everything were completely normal. Tanjiro stayed behind though, calling her name to get her attention.

"Meet me here after school, I want to show you something." He then left to go to his own class. She was curious as to what he would 'show her', but there wasn't any point in thinking too much about it. She'd find out after school.

Kanao then met up with Rose, who was standing near the entrance to the classroom.

"Oh, you're back. I was told to wait here for you. We're supposed to be studying in the library today, for that exam." She had an apologetic look in her eyes, but Kanao couldn't really figure out why.

But it _was_ true that there was going to be exams soon enough. She inwardly sighed at the long hours of studying that would surely come her way. The two started walking to the library, with Rose telling her about how Kanao would have to see Shinobu at some point to give her the information about what happened during her mission.

Studying with Rose felt oddly normal, which isn't necessarily what Kanao would say that her life is. It was almost nice to do something that everyone else did.

During the period, Rose talked about her own assignments, and taught Kanao how to make a proper mission report. It was a useful little piece of information, and she was grateful for it. Time passed like this, and before she knew it, the bell rang.

.

After gathering her things, she waved Rose goodbye and went to the gate where Tanjiro was already waiting.

He didn't say anything, just started walking when he saw her. She got the message, and followed him.

A little while later, the two arrived at a large building. Kanao recognized it as the city's hospital. She drove by it several times with Shinobu, but she's never had any reason to go inside. Then she thought about how Tanjiro's sister survived the attack from the Demons.

_Wait. If Tanjiro's sister is alive but in a coma…_

_Are we visiting her?_

She kept following him, through the doors and to the front desk, where the receptionist waved and let them through to the series of rooms. _Tanjiro must have been here many times if he was so easily identified. _

He also seemed to know his way around well, and after just a few minutes the two found themselves in front of a door. Kanao unconsciously committed the room number, 1846, to her memory. Tanjiro looked solemn at the door, before gently pushing it open.

Inside the room was a bed, a few chairs, and all the other things that are typically in a hospital room. The walls and ground were a blank white, along with the bedsheets.

Kanao released a breath she didn't know she was holding at the sight of the girl lying on the bed.

She had long, dark hair with orange highlights at the bottom. Kanao could see the facial similarities between her and Tanjiro, and knew that they were siblings. But seeing her on the hospital bed, looking pale and small with eyes closed, Kanao felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy standing next to her. _It must be hard, seeing your own sister like this. _She imagined what it would be like if it was Shinobu or anyone else she cared about lying on that bed, and her compassion only increased.

"Nezuko's been like this for months. Occasionally, she'll wake up. But she has never spoken a word since the attack, and even though she does seem to recognize me, she isn't the same at all." Tanjiro supplied, voice strained with sadness.

Kanao kept silent as he continued. "Supposedly, she was traumatized to the point where she can't even speak. It's that, and the fact that nobody understands her condition. 'She's in an on-and-off coma', that's what they all say. I don't like to think about what happened to her."

He sat down at her bedside, taking hold of her limp hand. "I just… I just want her to be normal again. I wish she never had to go through this. Each time she falls back into the coma, I feel like those were my last moments with her and that she'd never wake up again."

Kanao took a seat next to him, staying silent but conveying all the feelings she needed to through her eyes, which were locked in contact with his.

_I don't want you to suffer alone. I can stay here as long as you want me to._

He turned his head, closing his eyes. "Yeah, I think I'd like you to stay for a little bit. Do you have anything going on at home today?"

She didn't like the way he worded 'going on at home' (it reminded her of pain), but shook her head nonetheless. She could always tell Shinobu where she was later.

So they sat there in comforting silence, wistfully watching the girl who was attacked, who was given a fate almost worse than death, the girl who might never wake up again.

.

"Where were you?"

Kanao closed the door behind her, seeing Shinobu sitting on the couch.

Since she was asked a question, she was obliged to answer. That's what she was taught, so she replied. "I was with Tanjiro, visiting his sister in the hospital."

At that, Shinobu smiled. "Okay. It's late though. You should go to sleep."

Kanao nodded, and headed to her room.

Once everything was put away and she was changed, she lay in bed. But she couldn't sleep. She kept on thinking about Nezuko, and eventually pulled out her coin. Seeing the outcome, she put the coin away and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Then, she browsed random social media pages, tired but unable to fall asleep.

_TTTTT  
_

**Well, that's that. I was quite lazy, so it's a short chapter today.**

**There is a small reference in here, it's Nezuko's room number. 1846 backwards is 6418, which can be rewritten as 6/4/18. June 4, 2018 is the day the Demon Slayer anime was announced to the public to be coming out.**

**That's about it. Thanks for reading, favouriting/following, and/or reviewing!**


	12. XII: Formalitites

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**Some extra information you may want to know: ****The Japanese school year begins in April, ends in the next March and is divided into three semesters. The first semester begins in April and ends around July 20. For most elementary, junior high, and high school students, summer vacation lasts from July 20 through August 31. I'll be using this for the story's school system.**

**I also apologize for anyone attempting to make a timeline, because there are many short timeskips (e.g. 1-3 weeks) that are mostly left unsaid.**

**XII: Formalities**

Around 3 weeks later, a new mission was announced.

Kanao sat in front of Shinobu's desk, much like the last time she was given a mission. Her sister had a folder in her hands, which she placed facing toward Kanao. The raven-haired girl opened the file, revealing a map with a circled location. A few small pieces of information and some photos were scattered about, but there wasn't nearly as much as there was in the previous folder.

She locked eyes with Shinobu, waiting patiently for an explanation.

"This mission isn't a small one. Most of the Demon Slayers in the school will be attending. Call it 'The Last Mission of the Term', if you want." Shinobu folded her hands across her lap.

It was true, she supposed. After this semester would be summer break. _Things go by quickly. _She could still remember when she first came to the school on the day of Final Selection.

"See the mountain on the map there? That's your destination. The Aranea family, one of the Demon's funders, are hosting a party in two days from now. We are going to infiltrate the party, and assassinate the family, along with anyone involved with them." Her sister leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms. "Any questions?"

Kanao hesitated a little, but then asked, "You said 'we', does that mean you're coming too?"

Shinobu nodded. "I am, and a few other teachers."

While it was surprising to Kanao that so many people, including some teachers, were coming on this one assignment, it also made her feel as though she were part of something important.

Her sister looked as though she just remembered something. "Oh, and here's the money for your outfit. You have to wear something formal, as it_ is_ an elegant party." She was handed a small envelope that probably had quite the large sum of cash inside.

Oddly enough, she felt excited for this mission.

She'd be ready.

.

After the bell rang, Kanao met up with Rose in the hallway. She wasn't too sure when she began doing this, but she didn't mind much.

"Kanao! Guess what?" The brunette smirked deviously.

Of course, Kanao didn't answer, but Rose continued regardless. "We get to be in pairs for a certain part of this mission! I bet you'll be with Tanjiro~"

Over the weeks of rest, Rose had begun teasing Kanao (and sometimes Tanjiro) about the fact that the two are friends (that was Kanao's guess, anyway). The raven-haired girl wasn't entirely sure when exactly it started or how, but often she'd find herself in these mocking conversations.

Despite it, she found it nice somehow. She wasn't sure just _what_ the smiling brunette was to her. Perhaps a friend? She was pretty sure that they were at least past the 'acquaintance' stage.

"So? Want to go grab dresses together? I'm coming on this mission too, you know." Rose grinned. "I have such a good idea for your colour scheme!" With that, Kanao was grabbed by the wrist and practically dragged toward the main gates.

.

The two entered an expensive-looking store. It had black and white walls, with splashes of colour being in the furniture that was scattered about the large room. Rose appeared to know what she was doing, so Kanao let herself be pulled around.

"I've been in here before, but I've never bought anything. I… couldn't exactly afford it. But the school lended us the money we need!" The brunette pushed Kanao in front of a display. "This is what I was thinking for you."

But Kanao was barely listening anymore. Her eyes were glued to what looked like the most beautiful dress in the whole store.

It was a sleeveless V-neck, with a black top that faded into a flowing nightshade skirt. Starting at the top right of the gown and ending at the waist was a delicate silver leaf-and-flower design which shone under the fluorescent store lights. She also noticed a large silver butterfly in the center of the arrangement, seeming to gleam the most among the leaves and flowers.

"Hey, do you like it Kanao?" Rose appeared to have picked out something already, and was holding it over her shoulder. A flowy dress of pale rose gold, with dove grey accents. _Fitting for her._

Flipping her coin, she prayed that it landed on 'Heads'. It did, which permitted her to speak.

"I do like it. I think I'll buy this one." She said, as Rose went to get an employee so they could get the dress off the display. It appeared to be the only one of its kind in the store.

.

They took a while afterward to get the appropriate shoes and accessories to go with their choices. Finally finished with the shopping, the two parted ways.

"That was fun, I hope we can do it again sometime. Bye, Kanao!" Rose smiled, leaving to go to her house.

Kanao figured that she should probably go back to her own apartment. She took off, bag containing the gorgeous dress in her hand.

Once she got back, she went up to her room to try on the dress. She had gotten measured for any necessary adjustments while there, but she never got an opportunity to wear the gown itself.

Stepping into the dress and putting on the necklace and bracelets she got, she took a deep breath and locked eyes with the girl in the mirror.

She didn't notice that she stopped breathing. Kanao didn't consider herself to be the most beautiful person. But standing in the dress that she bought with a friend, in a home where she was accepted, she felt… well, no words could describe it. Grateful, combined with a million other emotions.

It was the first time in a while since she felt truly happy. She finally realized just how much everything she had now in life meant to her.

At some point, Shinobu came inside. Neither of the sisters said anything, just stood there. It wasn't awkward at all for either.

For Kanao, the emotions stayed the same as before.

For Shinobu, the situation was bittersweet. She could remember a time when herself and Kanae had admired themselves in the mirror while wearing gowns for a similar mission to this one. It nearly broke her heart again, but she knew that she now had Kanao. The girl who, even though they weren't related by blood, looked so much like Kanae at that moment. Or maybe it was just Shinobu's imagination. She didn't care much either way.

.

_Two Days Later_

It was finally the day of the mission. Of course, it wouldn't start until a few hours have passed. Regardless, all the Demon Slayers that were going on the mission were lined up in their formal wear, weapons hidden in the folds of skirts and pockets of suits.

Limos were lined up along the side of the road that led to the school. Kanao, Rose, Tanjiro (Who was in a black suit with a red shirt), Zenitsu and Inosuke (Black suits, yellow and grey shirts respectively) were all in a car together. Interesting, that all the people Kanao knew well were in a group. She wondered if Shinobu had anything to do with it.

She couldn't help but think about the what ifs of the situation. What if this were normal, if they weren't going to assassinate a mafia family? What if they were all regular friends, who were just going to a regular party?

_But nothing will ever be normal. Nothing ever _was _normal. Since the day I was born, I've been destined not to lead an ordinary and happy life. Sad and pitiful as it is, it's the truth._

"Kanao, I think we're leaving now."

She looked up to see Tanjiro, who was pointing out that the teachers were leading groups of students into the cars. She nodded.

Shinobu found her way to their party, and proceeded to lead them to a limo. She winked at Kanao, then went back into the crowd.

It was finally time for the party.

_TTTTT_

**Well, Covid is providing some interesting news. Like Florida. Good job Florida, you get a cookie for setting case records. And still opening places. Wow.**

**Well, it's party time in the story. Next week.**

**See ya then!**


	13. XIII: Dance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**XIII: Dance**

The car ride was pretty uneventful, mostly just adrenaline beginning to kick in. They _were_ going to a party, a formal one at that, to assassinate a mafia family after all.

Kanao sat with the window on her right, with Rose on her left. She did another check to ensure that she had everything she needed, although she really didn't need to as she already had done so several times. It just made her anxious to sit and do nothing.

Tied around the waist of her gown, at first glance appearing to be a simple decoration, was a thick, sharp and silver wire (a garrote, in a way). Its purpose is to serve as a backup weapon to her knives if necessary, but can also be used to store information as the end can pop off to reveal a hard drive.

Under the gown, straps on her legs held her knives and gun. Beneath Kanae's butterfly hairpin, special hair clips could be used as lockpicks or files. Her heels each had hidden blades that could pop out of the end. Everything Kanao knew about hiding weapons was taught to her by Shinobu personally.

She knew she had everything she needed with her, so Kanao just stared out the window for the rest of the ride deep in thought.

.

After some time, a huge mansion came into view. To call it a castle wouldn't be too much of an overstatement. Elegantly painted white with black accents and having many large windows, the entire place gave off tones of grandness, dignity and luxury. Kanao could see from her window a vast garden complete with walking paths, several fountains, and every type of flower she could name. Everything was securely protected by a towering light grey fence that surrounded the entire estate.

Their car parked to the side of the house along with the other cars in a wide lot. Carefully opening the door, Kanao stepped outside. The air was warm and welcoming, although she knew it wouldn't be that way for long.

Tanjiro stood next to her. He stared at the house with a look of determination in his eyes, hands clenched into tight fists.

They had arrived.

.

Their group was led by a person who Kanao assumed was a butler into the house. A formal grand hall greeted them when they walked through the doors. A few fancy hallways later had them in a spacious ballroom with a ceiling so high that you had to crane your neck to see the top. Tables scattered one side of the room, while an empty space (for dancing, she thought) dominated the other. Against the wall of the empty section was a large stage.

As for guests, there were the disguised Demon Slayers among many people that Kanao didn't recognize, so she figured that they were regular people invited. Supposedly this party was for fundraising for some good cause, but Kanao knew that wasn't the case. Really, this banquet was for giving the mafia more money to work with.

After a while of patiently waiting for the festivities to begin, two women walked out onto the stage. The older one had long platinum blonde hair (nearly silver, but Kanao could tell it was dyed to be that way) left straight down, while the younger one had the same hair colour except hers was shorter. Both wore flowing white gowns with touches of red.

"We welcome you to the Aranea family charity event." The younger one went first. "I am Aranea Aiya, the eldest daughter." Her monotone voice made it almost sound like she was simply told to say what she did.

The other woman continued. "And I am Aranea Hikaru, the mother. We hope you enjoy the banquet." Her voice was nearly the same as her daughter's, without emotion.

With that, classical music started up and the two exited the stage. Since Kanao hadn't ever been to any sort of formal party, she wondered if it was always like this. The people around her began to move, being sent to their specific tables by the butlers.

Eventually Tanjiro, Kanao, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Rose, and a few other demon slayers were sent to a table together.

Staring at the many plates and utensils on the elegant table, Kanao felt somehow out of place. It was like she wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be somewhere else, particularly in the slums of the city with her family, working her life away with no good rewards-

"Kanao, are you alright?" It was Tanjiro, who sat next to her. He lowered his voice so that only Kanao could hear him. "You're staring into space."

She nodded. But she made him concerned. A small wave of guilt crashed over her, but she wasn't sure why.

Not being able to stand the silence much, the group began making small talk to pass the time (Kanao still stayed silent). Apparently when the family came out to mingle with the guests, the stealthier Demon Slayers would sneak behind their backs and briefly turn the lights out, along with triggering the sprinklers. Supposedly a few slayers had already been to the house to scout out the necessary routes and rooms that they would need to accomplish the task.

Dinner arrived, carried out to each of the tables. Kanao and the others all checked their expensive-looking food for any sedatives or poisons, just in case (although Inosuke just dug into his food without a care, with the reasoning that he was raised in the forest and became 'immune' to such things after a while).

Once they made sure there wasn't anything, they began eating. The main course consisted of steaks and other meats, along with saffron rice and cooked vegetables. Many other foods were scattered about the table. Kanao had to admit that the food was quite delicious, and that she'd never had that type of meal in her life before.

After the other courses, which had similar types of food, were finished, dessert came. Cakes of every flavour, chocolate fountains with bowls of fruit, pudding, and many other treats were placed onto the table next. Another round of checking for poisons, another round of eating the rich and pleasant food.

.. (Author's Note: I personally listened to "Affections Touching Across Time" from the Inuyasha soundtrack when writing this scene. If you want, you can put that on. Just search it up on Youtube, it should be the first option to pop up.) ..

Some time passed, and the plates were cleared away. People around her stood and moved to the empty half of the ballroom. Kanao heard the music change from lazy and background-style to a more dance type song. She saw everyone else either stay seated or also stand to go to the dance floor.

A gentle tug on her arm got her attention. She turned her head and saw Tanjiro, who instantly met her eyes with a slight blush on his face. "Um, Kanao, may I have this dance?"

She took the coin out of a small pocket she had sewn into her dress, and flipped it quickly. Revealing her hand, the _Tails_ side was facing upward. That meant…

"Of course." She took his arm and the two began walking to an empty spot on the ballroom floor.

Little did they know, an over-excited Rose, a slightly jealous Zenitsu, and a confused Inosuke were watching the two leave the table. The bubbly brunette took out her phone from where it was stored in her purse (even though the teachers told the students not to bring their phones to the event), and snapped a few quick photos. "So cute…"

.

Kanao felt lightheaded, but not in a bad way. It was an odd feeling, but one that was almost enjoyable in a sort. She let herself be led to the dance floor by Tanjiro, who seemed to know more about what he was doing.

A slow song was playing as they got into proper position. Shinobu had taught her how to dance formally before the mission started, probably so that she wouldn't have to learn as she went.

Then they were off. Gliding across the hardwood floor in slow circles, neither stumbled too much due to practise. The light feeling that was present before only grew now, along with a hint of nervousness for a reason Kanao couldn't figure out. Still, it was… nice. She was happy to be there, in Tanjiro's arms.

For a fleeting second, the weight of her past lifted off of her shoulders. For just a single moment, everything felt as though it would be alright in the end. One blissful flash that seemed to last a lifetime. Unconsciously, she held Tanjiro just a little bit tighter to hold on to that feeling.

She could catch glimpses of the Aranea family (she knew it was them because of their distinctive hair colour) dancing and mingling with the other guests. She could even see the mother, Hikaru, talking casually with Shinobu. From across the room, Kanao and her sister briefly locked eyes. Shinobu smirked, nodding her head in approval.

Then Kanao met another pair of eyes, those being the deep red of Tanjiro's.

They both smiled a little.

Then the lights went out.

_TTTTT_

**Hehe, cliffhanger time.**

**I apologize for last week, I took some time to plan out the story. I now have arcs that I'm confident with now, at least. I even said "See you next week" then never posted…**

**Well, apparently Tanjiro and Kanao forgot about the mission. Or was that the mission? Who knows… (uh oh, do **_**I**_** even know?)**

**I **_**will**_** update next week, and if I don't, please shoot me a PM to remind me that I need to write. I feel bad that I can't keep a consistent update sometimes.**

**See ya.**


	14. XIV: Fight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**XV: Fight**

One moment.

For a single, everlasting moment, everything was quiet in the pitch-black darkness that had erupted around the ballroom.

Then it all turned to chaos.

There were shouts from the regular civilians who didn't know what was going on. Kanao noticed that the voices of the Aranea family were not included.

How could she have been so stupid? Shinobu's nod of 'approval' was actually a nod signaling the start of the true mission. Even though it looked like some type of support… what is it that her sister was trying to portray? The simple movement had a duel-meaning, perhaps?

Putting her thoughts aside for the time being, she tugged on Tanjiro's arm (he seemed to have come to the same conclusion as her, judging by his lack of surprise at the sudden dark) and dashed to the nearest safe location she knew the way to, which was a small hallway off of the main room. Shinobu had previously instructed her to memorize the map of the mansion, so that when the time arrived that everyone would be in darkness, she'd know where to go by knowledge and instinct.

By this point, gunshots could be heard echoing off of the tall walls of the room. The hidden mafia members must have recovered their senses and figured out that they have been breached.

Kanao tried to ignore the thoughts of what may have happened to Rose, Zenitsu and Inosuke, who were still at the table as far as she knew. Pushing them to the back of her mind, she quickly sat down with her hand still attached to Tanjiro's arm.

"Alright Kanao, what's our plan?" He whispered. Technically their assigned plan was to simply hold off all of the mafia members while the teachers and more experienced Demon Slayers went to assassinate the Aranea family, but she knew what he meant.

There was no time to flip her coin, and she wouldn't be able to see the outcome in the dark even if she did. It felt so wrong to do so, but she spoke, trying to convince herself that it was because she was asked a question, and had to make a response. She wouldn't get beaten if-

A nearby gunshot reminded her of what she had to do. "We need to first steal night vision goggles, or whatever it is they may have, off of the mafia members." She deduced that since they were shooting, they must be able to see. They wouldn't want to shoot their own side, after all. The school didn't let them carry their own night vision goggles into the party, since they were too bulky to try and hide in comparison to the smaller knives and guns. "Then we have to take out all of them."

"Alright." Tanjiro confirmed. She realized that he must have been looking to her for a plan because she was technically higher ranked than him. Being the successor to Shinobu's position, she is given a greater status among the Demon Slayers.

The two stood, gripping each other's hand to ensure that they stayed together. Then, staying low to the ground, they sprinted back into the chaotic ballroom.

.

Gunshots and shouts rang around them as they ran, Kanao leading the way. Occasionally they'd hit an overturned chair or table, and sometimes other things that she'd rather not say.

After some time, they managed to find the source of one of the gunshots. The sound deafened Kanao's ears, being so close, but she managed to take out a knife and incapacitate the person, judging their position by instinct alone. She then stole the night vision goggles off of his face (she was correct, they did have them. Seemingly as a precaution more than anything else, they must have hidden the goggles within the room somewhere along with other utilities. Unless they saw the Demon Slayers coming, but she didn't think they did), and gave them to Tanjiro to wear. He didn't know his way around in the dark like she did, so Kanao would simply take the next pair.

.

Stealing another pair of night vision goggles wasn't too difficult. The biggest issue was the fact that she couldn't see, so there were some missed attempts at knocking the unfortunate person unconscious. Really, it was a miracle that she didn't get shot or stabbed in the process, although Kanao now sported some minor scratches.

Putting on the goggles, she was greeted by her surroundings in a green shade. Now finally being able to see, she could easily find and disable her enemies. But there was a downside to being granted vision once again.

The bodies of both the mafia members and her fellow Demon Slayers were littered on the floor, in pools of blood. Swallowing thickly, she continued on. Growing up in the slums of the city meant that she knew death well. Her brothers had died lying in their own blood. She herself had nearly passed on that way, too. She could pay her respects to them once the mission is finished. Holding her grip on Kanae's knife tighter, she took a breath. Then, she kept following Tanjiro.

.

Eventually, they found a group of Demon Slayers. The band agreed to take over duties in the ballroom, while Tanjiro and Kanao went to find (and possibly assist) the others who may need it. As far as they knew, there was activity within nearly the whole mansion.

Kanao had a bad feeling, but ignored it. What good would her intuition do?

Little did she know that soon, things would prove her bad feeling to be correct.

.

After a few quiet areas, the two opened large double-doors to unexpectedly find a large room full of mafia members. It almost looked like a second ballroom, only slightly smaller. Luckily, the mafia were on the other side of said large room.

Locking eyes, a silent conversation passed between Tanjiro and Kanao. Well, more like an argument. It only lasted about five seconds, but it seemed like longer.

_You go on ahead, leave me behind. I'll deal with them. _Kanao didn't want Tanjiro to be hurt, she'd much rather put her already broken self in harm's way than him. She also felt that it was her responsibility, for a reason she couldn't properly define.

_I can't do that, and you know it. _Tanjiro, on the other hand, wanted to protect Kanao. Even though she obviously doesn't need it, an instinct wanted him to.

At that, Kanao put on the small and sad smile. The mafia began running towards them. Dodging a bullet, she took her coin out of her pocket. Turning a nearby table over and ducking behind it for protection, she flipped it. Not sure whether to be relieved or dreadful at what it told her to do, she made what was probably the boldest decision in her life.

Turning back to Tanjiro, who had also evaded the gunfire by using a similar tactic as she did, she grabbed his arm and led him back to the door, using her own gun to fire back at the others.

"Kanao, what are you doing?!" Tanjiro's eyes went wide as he was pushed out of the room. With a single word as her answer (which was part of her original decision), she shut the doors on him. "Go."

Once the doors were closed, she swung back around to the room. Dashing for cover, she leapt back behind the table she was previously behind. But not before a bullet grazed her side.

The pain exploded, traveling up and down the right side of her waist, but she tried her best to ignore it. Peering around the table, she counted the remaining mafia members. Four.

Breathing in deep, she imagined that she was in a training exercise back at the apartment. Four targets, moving. She began to count in her head.

_One_

Aiming her gun to the man's leg, she pulled the trigger. A shout of pain told her she hit the mark.

_Two_

This time, she went for the left shoulder. This was an easier target, so she managed to aim and fire without as much stress of missing.

_Three_

The table she was using had a lot of bullet holes by this point, so she rolled behind the one that Tanjiro was using. Tanjiro, who probably could've helped her a lot if he were here. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she shot. It missed, and she silently cursed before firing again. She hit him right between the ribs. She felt bad, since that injury would probably mean death.

_Four_

She narrowed her eyes at the final target, who had hidden themselves behind a table just as she did. After some careful peeking out and firing, she managed to hit them in the arm. Wouldn't incapacitate them for too long, but she'd deal with it when the problem arises.

Hearing a small _click_ when she pulled the trigger again, she discovered that she had no extra ammo left for her pistol. There wasn't anything she could really do, so she opened the doors to the room and ran out to look for Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers.

.

She sprinted through empty hallway after empty hallway. Finally, she arrived at what she recognized (from the map) as the door to the garden.

Pushing it open, she dashed in, knives prepared for battle, when she saw something that made her eyes widen.

Tanjiro was crouching, clutching his shoulder. One of the Aranea family, Rui, was smirking nearby with a gun in his hand. There wasn't anyone else (alive, anyway) in the area. Everything went into slow motion. Kanao bolted towards her friend, prepared to take the bullet she knew was coming, when something entirely different happened.

_BANG_

The gunshot echoed into the night. Blood blossomed on Rui's leg.

Kanao stared at Tanjiro, making sure he was alright, but his eyes were on something- no- some_one_ else. Following his stunned gaze, she set her eyes upon the one person she would never expect to see here, let alone anywhere but that quiet private hospital.

Nezuko stood determined, the gun in her hands still aimed at Rui.

_TTTTT_

**Cliffhanger time, part two: writing at midnight.**

**I should have done this a long time ago, but I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews:**

**Manu259, MagicKit, Frost Glaive, SpineCricket, silver strm, Guest, jalus, CrumpetsAndTeaLeaves, and NeonTheUmbreon23.**

**Reviews are like energy drinks for me, inspiring and motivating me to keep on writing this story. So thank you so much!**

**Anyway, I **_**think **_**I'll be able to update next week. So see ya then!**


	15. XV: Hikaru

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**Hikaru, which is the name I chose for the Mother Spider Demon, is actually a male name. Whoops. I'll be keeping the name, but just ignore that fact and pretend that this is fine. Thanks.**

**XV: Hikaru**

She wasn't very aware at the time, but behind Nezuko was both Shinobu and Giyuu Tomioka, a man who she had met a few times but not many. Supposedly he was the person who recruited Tanjiro into the Demon Slayers.

But Kanao only stared at Nezuko, who was supposed to be in a coma. It was a miracle that she was even awake, so why was she here, at a place that practically screamed "Danger"?

Her amethyst eyes then turned to the gun in the girl's hands. If she wasn't mistaken, that was a Demon Slayer-issued pistol. Tanjiro said that his sister was gentle and kind, so why would she have a weapon made for destruction? She felt as though she was trying to complete a puzzle when she only had a few pieces to work with. Nothing clicked together.

Realizing that the fight couldn't be over yet, Kanao whipped her gaze to Rui, who was already shaking off his shock. So he was clearly more powerful than the other low-level Mafia members in the mansion.

The silver-haired boy's leg was bleeding profusely, but he didn't appear to care. If anything, he just looked more battle-ready. Kanao did a quick mental inventory check, taking note that she had six standard knives plus Kanae's blade, but no ammo for either of her guns. She had her disguised hard drive for information, plus a few spare tools that wouldn't be particularly useful at the time being.

Narrowing her eyes and taking out both Kanae's dagger and the standard knife, she faced her new enemy. Keeping her guard up and never turning her back from Rui, she carefully made her way to Tanjiro. Taking some of the bandages that she had hidden in a small skirt pocket, she crouched next to him.

After she gave him the bandages for his shoulder, he quietly gave her some ammo. Leave it to him to figure out what it was she needed. Part of their training was a situation similar to this, but both knew that you were supposed to train your gun on the enemy as you approached them. He must have noticed that since she didn't have it out, she didn't have any ammunition. While bluffing and holding out her gun anyway could have worked, it was a risky plan that she didn't want to try.

Loading her pistol, she stood and began walking in a large circle around Rui. In her peripheral vision, she could see Shinobu and Giyuu standing at the ready in case anything went wrong.

Nezuko slowly began moving towards her brother. Kanao caught her eyes, which were a mysterious pink colour. A silent understanding came between the two, and Kanao changed tactics so that she was covering Nezuko as the girl moved to help Tanjiro.

Rui seemed to notice this, and without warning dashed past both girls and began attacking Tanjiro instead. "The one with the flame-like scar isn't allowed to live." His monotone voice, young sounding since he was still a child, cut through the tense atmosphere.

At that instant, many things happened at once.

The first was that Nezuko began running quicker towards her brother, panic spreading across her pale face.

The second; Shinobu turned to Giyuu, and after a brief second the two seemed to have come up with a plan to both get Tanjiro to safety and defeat Rui.

The third was in the form of a silver-haired girl, who leaped between the two teachers and Tanjiro. The girl must have been a member of the Aranea family. Perhaps something Rui said could have been a signal for her to come out?

The fourth was Kanao. Time seemed to slow down as she stood, needing to make a choice or be given her orders. Does she go after Tanjiro like Nezuko? Does she help her sister and Giyuu with the girl who just appeared? Does she aim and shoot at Rui, hoping that she doesn't miss and hit Tanjiro instead? Everything seemed to spin around her, getting faster and faster.

_My coin. I need my coin. _But things were steadily speeding up, and there was no time. Her breathing got quicker as the decisions floated around her, needing her to pick the right one at the fear of someone she cares about dying because she made the wrong choice-

_TTTTT_

.

.

_About a Half-Hour ago..._

After Kanao had pushed him out of the room, shutting the doors, Tanjiro stood a bit dumbfounded at her move. But instead of being given time to think, several Demons came around a turn and began walking in his direction, luckily not noticing him. Ducking behind a nearby couch, he silently examined the state of his equipment as he waited for the group before him to pass by.

He had seven knives and two guns with about half the original ammo. While he did have extra in his pockets, he didn't want to waste his shots.

Once the patrol of Demons turned another corner, Tanjiro stood and dashed to the nearest window. Opening it and jumping out the short distance, he found himself to be in the mansion's large garden. He didn't see anyone there, friend or foe, so he moved once again.

He took all of three steps before a bullet hit the ground at his feet.

"Don't move." A feminine and almost desperate-sounding voice rang out, Tanjiro threw his head up in the direction the shot came from, but he saw nothing. Knowing that _someone_ must be there, he took another look. This time his deep red eyes landed on a tree with branches that moved a little bit unnaturally. _Found you._

He trained his gun on a spot just next to the supposed sniper, and fired. He heard a small gasp, then a rustling of leaves as the person jumped down from their hiding spot.

It was the woman from before, who was talking on the stage before all the chaos ensued. Her name was… Hikaru, if he remembered correctly. Her long platinum blonde hair was blowing gently in the wind, and her flowing white dress had smudges of dirt because of climbing and hiding. While she did train her gun on him, he felt as though the action wasn't something she actually wanted to do, more so something she was ordered to accomplish. With this, he made a risky choice.

"You don't actually want to do this, do you." His words were less of a question and more of a statement.

Hikaru said nothing, her eyes wide at his unaggressive, almost kind tone.

"My friends and I previously fought the man who was apparently your husband. But I noticed something out of the ordinary." Zenitsu, Inosuke and himself indeed fought a tough battle against a man who had plates of armour under his clothes, making it difficult to pierce his skin. He had said at some point that his family and himself would kill all the people who oppose the Demons, or something along those lines.

"Neither you, nor your 'husband' have wedding rings. That, and Rui seemed to be the one in command of everyone, not you or your partner. Why is that?" Now Tanjiro was just going off of small bits of information he noticed, and his gut feeling. Despite that, his guess appeared to be correct.

Hikaru smiled sadly. "You are right, young Slayer. I do not wish to do this anymore. Rui is the one practically controlling us." Her voice was resigned and peaceful in a way, as if she was waiting for someone to guess her fate. "He recruited us into his 'family', ordering us to behave certain ways and change our appearances." She placed her gun hand at her side. "You might not know why I'm telling you all this," Her grip loosened on her weapon, a small _clatter_ sounding as it dropped to the ground next to her. "But you'll understand later on."

That's when he realized it. She just wanted to be free. She didn't wish to fight, to kill. She knew that if she tried to live a normal life, if she tried to redeem herself, that she'd probably be killed in a more brutal way than what she wanted. And he knew what she was silently asking him to do.

Fishing a small vial out of his pocket, he walked towards her.

"This is a fast-acting poison. It guarantees little to no pain." Both of them heard the unsaid _when it kills you._ "Are you sure you want to…?" He trailed off.

"Yes. I'm sure." She carefully took and opened the vial. "Thank you. Be on your way, you have to help your comrades." Downing the contents of the vial in a few gulps, she slowly sat down against a nearby tree.

"I saw the girl you were with before running by me. She's… okay… heading in the… direction of Rui. Go, young… Slayer…"

They say Hikaru Aranea died with a peaceful smile on her face.

"Thank you. Rest in peace now." Tanjiro shakily walked towards a patch of flowers, picking a white one and bringing it back to the woman. He placed it in her hand, then ran off to find his friends.

.

.

_Present_

Seeing Rui coming towards him, he rolled out of the way of a gunshot. His brain was still trying to get over the fact that Nezuko was out of her coma and helping him on his mission, but he tried to put off the thoughts for later. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shinobu and Giyuu taking out the other Aranea member, the other woman he saw previously on stage at the start of the whole event.

At least Rui wasn't attacking Nezuko or Kanao. But why him? He thought back to what the silver-haired boy had said before. _The one with the flame-like scar isn't allowed to live._

He could dwell on why he was being hunted later on. Now, he had to take down Rui. Meeting the eyes of Kanao, he formulated a plan. While he didn't like the fact that he might have to put Nezuko in danger, he saw it as the only option available.

Dashing towards Rui, he began the battle.

_TTTTT_

**I'm tired. I spent half the day trying to write this over and over, with no actual good results. Over 2,000 words of me attempting to figure out what I was doing. But hey, this is the longest chapter in the book so far.**

**Anyway, I had a kind of "Alternate" version of the Hikaru/Tanjiro scene, one that would more suit an abridged version of the series than anything else;**

_TTTTT_

Hikaru smiled sadly. "You are right, young Slayer. I do not wish to do this anymore. Rui is the one practically controlling us." Her voice was resigned and peaceful in a way, as if she was waiting for someone to guess her fate. "He recruited us into his 'family', ordering us to behave certain ways and change our appearances." She placed her gun hand at her side. "You might not know why I'm telling you all this," Her grip loosened on her weapon, a small _clatter_ sounding as it dropped to the ground next to her. "But…"

Tanjiro waited in anticipation, curious as to why she was revealing her secrets to him.

"I don't really know, either." She made a flat line with her mouth, shrugging. "I mean, whenever the villain of the story tells their plan and/or past to the hero, it means that said villain is going to get stopped and probably killed."

He blinked, confused. "If you knew you were going to get killed, why tell me everything anyway?"

"You tell me. Maybe it's because the author of this story," - Hikaru turned her eye to someplace Tanjiro couldn't see - "Needed a way to kill me off peacefully like I died in the original anime."

Cocking an eyebrow, he questioned what was happening. "Are you saying that this is to be a story?"

Once again she shrugged. "Maybe you get the ability to break the fourth wall if you're a side character that's about to die. Who knows?"

"Fourth wall? Do I even _want _to know what you're talking about now?"

"To be honest, no. You really don't." She picked up the gun she dropped, spinning it around on her finger. "Can you hurry up and kill me so you can go have a dramatic scene with your girlfriend and sister?"

"I- _Huh?_"

"Did I stutter? Come on and kill me, coward."

_TTTTT_


	16. XVI: Wounded

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**XVI: Wounded**

It was almost funny, in a way.

Kanao's thoughts were along that line as she stood with Nezuko and Tanjiro at her side. Who could have guessed that the boy she met almost 8 years ago and his supposed-coma-patient sister would be standing off with herself, a girl who relies on a coin for life choices, against a member of an important mafia family?

Said member of an important mafia family was in a crouch, reloading his guns and doing a quick job of bandaging his leg, with an almost bored expression. His white suit was caked with blood, but he didn't seem to care. In the distance, the screams of the innocent people that were just looking for an evening of fun could be heard. Kanao didn't know if they were alright, but she couldn't check. She had to have some faith in her comrades, and trust that they'd make it out alive.

While she wasn't entirely sure why neither she nor anyone else was attacking, she took a guess that this was like the conclusion to the assignment, the eye of the storm before the waves of bloodshed hit. It filled her with adrenaline, making her calm and more focused in an odd way.

Rui straightened, narrowing his eyes. "Three on one, huh? These are some unfair odds I'm up against. Why not make this more… even?" He made some type of signal with his hand at his side, and two small children appeared at his side seemingly out of nowhere.

_They can't be older than 12 or 13_, Kanao noted with pity. The two were twins, each with completely inexpressive faces and the silver hair of the Aranea family.

Tanjiro spoke up for the first time since seeing his sister. "Why do you control them like this?"

Rui smirked. "Whatever do you mean, Demon Slayer?"

"I think you know perfectly well what I mean." Deep red eyes brimmed with anger. "You can't just take over someone's life."

While Kanao and Nezuko were confused by Tanjiro's statement, Rui simply laughed humorlessly. "Well, here's the thing. I can do just that. These people had nowhere to go, didn't have anything to live for. But when anyone is poised on the edge of hellish despair and a spider's thread of salvation presents itself, they will invariably grasp it. I gave them that thread, and even though they probably knew it was a trap, they took it anyway. People will do anything to live."

Kanao's breath hitched in her throat for a moment. She knew exactly what Rui meant. She could easily have turned out like the Aranea family. If Shinobu and Kanae hadn't been there on that day, she would have been nothing but a slave, forced to work away her life and never know what it is that people see when they say that life is a beautiful thing. Even now, it may have been too late for her.

"I gave them a home and a family, on one condition. Obey my orders. Some were cowards, like that annoying Hikaru. She was the mother, supposed to protect her children. But what did she do? Die in the stupidest and most vain way possible." The silver-haired boy shook his head in disgust.

Tanjiro gasped lightly. "How did you-"

"I had a device installed in each member's body. The main transmitter" - He pulled something out of his pocket that almost looked like a phone - "Tells me when they have passed on."

Slowly placing the device back in his pocket, he suddenly whipped out one of his guns and pointed it at Tanjiro. "But that's enough information. What's the point of even telling you when you're just going to die immediately afterwards, anyway?"

The moments passed like hours. Kanao counted the seconds in her head.

_1…_

_2…_

_3…_

_4…_

_5…_

_**BANG**_

The gunshot rang out, starting it all.

.

Kanao threw a quick glance at Tanjiro, who had dodged the bullet fired at him.

She took out her own pistol along with Kanae's knife, and dashed forward and low to the ground to begin the attack.

Twisting this way and that so she wouldn't be an easy target, she shot at Rui. While some of her shots came close, she couldn't hit him since he was moving just as she was. The twin children were being battled by Tanjiro and Nezuko, so she didn't have to worry about them coming after her.

Getting close enough, she slid behind him and turned, slashing forward with Kanae's knife. A metallic _shing _rang out, Rui having intercepted the blade with his own. At a dead end with her first plan, Kanao jumped backwards and regrouped with the others, who managed to injure their opponents but not completely incapacitate them.

A blur of purple and white flew past the three Demon Slayers, taking on both twins at once. Shinobu nodded to Kanao, a silent signal for _I have these ones. You deal with Rui._

Out of the corner of her eye, she could also see Giyuu, who was standing atop a nearby tree as backup. She almost smirked. The teachers always seem to make everything a test of sorts.

Sharing glances with Tanjiro and Nezuko, Kanao dove forward once again, clearing a bullet that would have hit her in the head. Rolling into a somersault, she stood back up and tried her previous strategy once more, this time with Nezuko firing her gun from a distance and Tanjiro following Kanao to close combat.

Everything was going well. They all felt as though they could win, seeing how Rui was getting tired. Sometimes they could land hits.

Finally, Nezuko hit him in the stomach with a well-placed bullet, making a _clang_ sound. A clang? She could figure it out later on, as it probably wasn't important. In the meantime, Kanao would have to ask Nezuko where she managed to get that kind of aim.

Rui fell, blood pooling around him. Sheathing her pistol and Kanae's knife, she watched as everyone else did the same. Shinobu had taken down the twins, not killing, but still being just as deadly efficient.

Turning around, she went to check if the others had any injuries she could treat.

Well, she _tried_ to.

"Rule number one." A voice whispered in her ear. It was… Rui?

"Never take your eyes off of your enemy." He was directly behind her.

Whipping around, all she saw was the barrel of a gun right against her heart. In a desperate (and admittedly stupid) attempt to dodge, she jumped so that the gun was instead against her lower abdomen.

She could hear the shouts of her classmates, before a loud _BANG_ echoed out around her. She felt numbness, then intense pain, then nothing as her world faded to a cruel white.

_TTTTT_

_Floating in endless darkness, - or was it light? - Kanao felt light and at ease. While it was comforting to be this way, she felt as though something was very, _very_ wrong. As if she was forgetting something, a piece to the puzzle of her memories._

_A feeling of unease settled in, and she wanted to open her eyes to see what was wrong, what she was forgetting. But she couldn't. No matter how much she tried, her still body wouldn't listen to her mind._

_That's when a sharp, lingering pain began to register. It was centered around her abdomen, but washed over her form in waves. A voice began calling._

"_Kanao!"_

_Who was that? Her mother and father didn't care about her enough to bother calling her by- no, wait. They never gave her a name. As far as she knew back then, she was nameless, only being called things like 'brat' or 'girl', sometimes 'bitch'._

_Who was it that gave her the name she has today? Wasn't it her sister? Did she _have_ a sister?_

_No, she had brothers. But they- they were killed. By her father._

_Head beginning to spin, Kanao tried harder to remember. _

_She _does_ have a sister. Two of them, in fact. Shinobu and-_

"_Kanae." She faintly heard herself whisper._

_Kanae was dead, gone after a mission-_

_Gone after a mission._

_After a mission._

_A mission._

_That was it! She is a Demon Slayer, and went on a mission to assassinate a mafia family. She was with people; Inosuke, Zenitsu, Rose, and Tanjiro. Wasn't Shinobu there, too?_

_She became conscious of her own breathing and heartbeat, along with an annoying _beep_ sound._

_What happened on the mission for her to be like this-_

_She didn't even have to finish her own question._

_She was shot by Rui. She failed at one of the most obvious rules of battle, never turn your back on your enemy._

_Is she- is she dead? Would she be in the same place as Kanae?_

"_Kanao!"_

_Oh, the voice is still calling. Wait, that was Tanjiro, wasn't it? The boy she worked with on several occasions, the first to make her smile._

_Kanae's voice rang out in her head. "When you fall in love with some boy someday, you'll change too, Kanao."_

"_Tanjiro." She called out, becoming more aware of her surroundings with each breath, with each heartbeat._

"_Kanao, are you awake? Can you hear me?"_

"_I can hear you." She murmured, not knowing if her voice reached him._

_She'd have to decide that first question for herself though. And she wanted to live. She wasn't sure why exactly, maybe she could live once she found something to live _for_. Voices rang around her._

"_Stupid girl, how could you think that anyone cares about you?!"_

"_Your eyes are sad. Please smile."_

"_Protect the innocent, Kanao. Save them, as we saved you."_

_She found that she could open her eyes._

And she did.

_TTTTT_

'**Ello there. Might as well just end every chapter with a cliffhanger because torturing people is fun, apparently.**

**I made a Black Butler reference (specifically a quote) in this chapter. See if you can find it.**

**Actually, I make a lot of random references. I think I made a Hamilton one a chapter or two back. It's fun to put in subtle things that I highly doubt people would notice.**

**My chapters are getting longer, so that's good. Even if it's really only by around 200-300 words of an improvement.**

**See you all next week, where this arc should finally be concluded (it was supposed to all be over the **_**last chapter**_**, but I really do like taking my time it seems).**


	17. XVII: Recovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**XVII: Recovery**

While she did manage to crack open her eyelids, it was a very difficult process.

Everything around her was blurry and unrecognizable, with a black spots lining her vision. An intense ringing filled her ears.. Her throat felt like it hadn't had water in weeks. Of course, not to mention that her entire body was in quite a lot of pain.

Well, at least she was alive.

A shape, black and purple, was overtop of her. It took a minute to process, but she figured out that it must be Shinobu. The sky seemed lighter, too. Or was that a ceiling?

Focusing most of her consciousness into her sight and trying to ignore her pain, things began clearing up. She appeared to be in a bed, the soft linen sheets comforting her. White walls, white tile ground. Minimal decoration, although there were many charts and what appeared to be files. Medical ones. So she was in a hospital? _I mean, that makes perfect sense considering my injury._

"Kanao? Are you awake?"

The raven-haired girl tried to speak, but all that came out was a cough. Trying to sit up, she was pushed back down by her sister. A small smile came across Shinobu's face. "Don't try to sit up until you've recovered more. Go back to sleep."

Kanao's eyes asked her question. _How long was I out?_

"It was nighttime when you were injured, and it's about midday now." Leave it to her sister to have her do the math. She did feel tired though, even though she was passed out for so long.

Thoughts of her companions plagued her mind, but she managed to fall back asleep anyway.

.

This time she woke up feeling a bit better, and more conscious than the slightly delirious state she was in before. A pang of worry hit her as she thought about what might have happened in between the time that she was out and the time that she woke up.

Were Rui and all the other members of the Aranea family dead? How many casualties? What about Tanjiro, Rose, Zenitsu, and Inosuke? Were they okay too?

She managed to sit up, although it took some effort. Her sister was no longer in the chair that was placed next to her bed. The lights were off in her room, but through the crack of the room's door she could see that the hallway light was on. It must be the middle of the night.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Kanao set her gaze on the window of her room, which was casting a pale light across her form. Staring out at the stars, she felt an odd sense of calm. Sure, her abdomen hurt quite a bit. But sitting in complete silence felt peaceful after so much violence and bloodshed.

She didn't know how much time passed, but eventually the door to her room opened. Kanao's lips parted in a silent gasp, but then she almost smiled. Nezuko gently closed the door behind her, coming to sit on an extra chair that was against the wall.

"I came to check up on you, this is the first time I've been in with you awake though." The girl's dark pink eyes shone with relief. "How are you feeling?"

Kanao's hand went to where her pocket would usually be, but since she was in a hospital gown, which had no pockets, she didn't have her coin. Scanning around for it (much to Nezuko's confusion), she sees a glint of light on the bedside table. Making a mental note to thank Shinobu (who would have placed it there, since she knows that Kanao needs the coin), she flips the coin, checks the side, and responds.

"I'm doing fine. What happened while I was out though?" She felt anxious about, well, everything.

"It's a bit of a long story. First, since you look very nervous, my brother and all your friends are doing fine." Nezuko smiled warmly, and Kanao felt a sense of relief wash over her. She didn't know just how worried she was until someone pointed it out.

"After you were shot,"

_TTTTT_

_/-/ About 24 hours ago…_

_She could hear the shouts of her classmates, before a loud BANG echoed out around her. She felt numbness, then intense pain, then nothing as her world faded to a cruel white._

_._

_Nezuko's eyes widened as she watched Kanao fall to the ground in front of Rui, who stepped on her still form while smirking madly the whole time._

_Nobody knew if Kanao was dead or alive._

_She didn't even know the girl for a long time, all she really knew was that she was one of Tanjiro's friends. Still, seeing her collapse like a ragdoll to the ground made a cold hand close over her heart. Then she felt anger towards Rui. But nothing could really compare to how her brother looked when she turned her head to check if he was okay._

_Tanjiro was glaring at Rui with what looked like death itself. He already had a loaded gun out, along with one of his knives. It hurt Nezuko a little bit to see him so angry, but he was correct to feel like that. Plus, her own rage blocked out most of her other emotions, so she didn't think much on his._

_It was completely quiet for about a second, then everything happened at once._

_Shouting filled the garden. She could recognize Shinobu's voice among some of the voices. Tanjiro burst forward, yelling out to Rui. The silver-haired boy's smirk changed to a sneer as he dodged the bullets that flew towards him. After Rui got out of the way, Giyuu swooped in from where he was standing by, and with a gentleness Nezuko had never seen before, picked up the limp Kanao and brought her out of imminent danger, and where she could be treated by the doctors that were brought on the mission._

_Once she ensured that Kanao was being taken care of, Nezuko turned her gaze back to Tanjiro and Rui's fight. The two were actually on fairly even terms, probably thanks to her brother's rage combined with Rui's exhaustion. However, there needed to be one more player in the game, just to ensure victory._

_Cocking her gun and drawing a knife, Nezuko dashed into action._

_TTTTT_

"It was a long fight. Supposedly Tanjiro managed to do techniques that our father had come up with, but I couldn't remember much other than the generic violence." She looked down sadly. "While I don't like fighting much, and would rather solve something diplomatically, I sometimes just fall into a rage. I guess that's what most people do though."

Kanao's mind was on what Nezuko had told her. She wondered why Tanjiro apparently looked so angry when she passed out. Maybe he thought she was dead. There's no way he would actually care _that_ much about her though.

"_How could I not? You're my friend, Kanao. What, you didn't think that after all this time, I wouldn't care about you at all?"_

Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she nodded at Nezuko to continue the story.

_TTTTT_

_After some time, too much time had passed, the fight ended._

_It turned out that Rui had a plan for taking the siblings down. He had managed to snare Nezuko in a rope without her noticing, and by the time she did notice it was too late. Nobody could really help her, since Shinobu and Giyuu were both transporting Kanao to a medical site, the reinforcements somehow hadn't arrived yet, and Tanjiro was busy fighting Rui._

_Before too long, she watched as her brother collapsed to a knee. The silver-haired boy came in for the final blow, but was counterattacked and cut down by Giyuu, who apparently never left (she wasn't aware until later, but he made it look like he was going with Shinobu so that Rui would believe he was gone and couldn't help the siblings). _

_With Rui dead, marking the last of the family to fall, the mansion was finally deemed safe. The sirens of ambulances were growing louder by the moment. Giyuu had also cut Nezuko free, the girl immediately running towards Tanjiro to check if he was alright. _

_Before he passed out, he had asked if Kanao was okay._

_TTTTT_

"That's just my side of it though. I'd ask others too, so you can try and get some different views as to what happened." Nezuko's eyes fell onto Kanao's bandages, which were a bit pink in places but not the terrifying red that could be seen within the first few hours the Demon Slayer was in the hospital.

A small _ping_ as the coin was once again flipped. "Can you… help me walk?" Kanao was hesitant about what she wanted to ask.

"Of course. Where to, though? It's the middle of the night." Nezuko seemed confused, rightfully so.

"Um- I wanted to check on-"

"Oh, _I see what this is about_…" Pink eyes shone sadistically. "You want to see my brother, _don't you?_"

Kanao, even more hesitantly, nodded slowly. Scared of what was to come. She was getting serious Rose vibes from her, which couldn't mean anything good.

"Okay. I'll take you there. I'm pretty sure he's sleeping though."

With Nezuko's help, Kanao stood and made her way to the door. Walking down the hallway was peacefully quiet, at least until Nezuko made a remark.

"You know, I think you would make a nice sister-in-law. How about you and Tanjiro hurry up and get married?"

Kanao was beet red for the rest of the walk, but still ended up visiting the sleeping Tanjiro. Just to calm her nerves. Yes, that's definitely it.

_TTTTT_

**Whoops. Forgot to update yesterday. Although I was pretty busy too, so I **_**guess**_** I'm fine?**

**Not much to say about this one. Just a casual hospital thing, along with a very short version of the rest of the Rui fight. I know that it's kind of unsatisfying, but I couldn't figure out what else to do. I will, one day soon, come back and update this chapter so that the fight could be better and more detailed.**

**See you next week, unless I'm a jerk and don't update ;)**


	18. XVIII: Packing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**Author's note is up here this time. I'm just too impatient to wait until I write enough actual story to do said author's note. Sorry for it being pretty long.**

**Welcome to the new arc! If you watched the anime, you'll know that this is technically the Recovery Arc. It's going to be a bit different, since I threw some self-made content in here and also mixed it with another (... self-made) arc since both were too small on their own to be considered full arcs. Also, just to let you know, there **_**will**_** be some manga content later on in the story, which means spoilers are bound to happen. Mind you, my versions won't be identical to the canon content. It's really just names of characters and certain big events, the rest is pretty much my take on it. For example, the end of the Mugen Train arc (manga readers and spoiled anime watchers, I think you know what I mean) will be in this story. Not directly, but it will be mentioned a few times.**

**One more thing, I know I'm droning on but still, we're almost at 100 follows! I don't know **_**how**_** to feel about that. Fun fact, when I released the first chapter of this story, I wasn't planning on continuing it. Really, I have the motivation (sometimes I don't have the motivation, but my point still stands) to write thanks to all of you who favourited/followed/reviewed this story. We've also hit over 16,000 views, which scares me. I don't want to feel like I'm disappointing people when their favourite part comes up and what I write ends up being a bad representation. I guess that's why I like reading reviews so much, it makes me feel better about my works.**

**Thanks for allowing me (unless you skipped the author's note. Then I suppose you didn't) to talk for a while. Let's get on with chapter 18.**

**XVIII: Packing**

About a week had passed, and most of the Demon Slayers were allowed to leave the hospital. Kanao, Tanjiro and Nezuko were walking out the doors, when suddenly Nezuko fell to the ground. Nurses took the girl (who was deemed unconscious) back to her room, with Tanjiro and Kanao following them worriedly. It turned out that Nezuko was back in her coma, and that she was very lucky to have gotten out of it in the first place.

Hesitantly leaving her in the doctor's care, the two Demon Slayers left to go back to the school.

.

"Kanao! I'm so glad you're okay!" Rose barreled into the raven-haired girl, hugging her fiercely. Kanao just blinked, not sure what to do about her situation.

Supposedly Rose, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were admitted to a different hospital than Kanao, Nezuko, and Tanjiro were. The sheer amount of Demon Slayers that went on the mission in the first place meant that there had to be people placed in either hospital to avoid confusion as to why there are a ton of youth being admitted to the hospital all at one time.

"We've been stuck with _her_ the entire time you were in the hospital." Inosuke walked up to Tanjiro, walking far around the brunette. "She's not human! She's more of a small and pesky dog!"

At that, Rose turned her head, glaring at him. "What. Was. That?"

The two began arguing loudly, with Rose no longer clinging to Kanao (much to the girl's relief, actually). It didn't help matters that Zenitsu _tackled_ Tanjiro out of nowhere, yelling about how he didn't want to die and how happy he was that the boy was alive.

Kanao watched the whole scene unfold with bewilderment, until a hand landed on her shoulder.

"May I talk with you, Kanao?" Shinobu was behind her. Kanao nodded, and the two left to head over to Shinobu's office.

.

_Ping._

"Why should we invite them over?" Kanao's soft voice was filled with curiosity.

"It should prove as a sort of private training course, and I know that you'd prefer to have people you know come instead of complete strangers. It would also help _you_, you know." Her sister smiled.

The idea was to invite Tanjiro, Rose, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to Kanao and Shinobu's home. Not the apartment, but the _second_ house that acts more like a cottage of sorts. A summer home. Kanao had gone there many times, but she wasn't sure how she felt about others coming over.

But her feelings didn't matter that much, so she simply nodded.

"They'll be coming in just a few days, so we should head there first in order to prepare." Shinobu stood from her chair and walked to the door. "You should go to your classes now. Afterwards, go home and pack your supplies."

.

_A few hours later…_

Kanao pushed open the door to her room, and took out a bag from her closet. After packing up what she needed, she went to inform Aoi, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho of the trip taking place. The four girls were excited, immediately going to grab their own supplies.

Instead of following them, Kanao went down to the training room and practiced her skills until late at night when Shinobu came and stopped her, saying she had done enough for now. Then, she showered and went to sleep.

.

A few days passed, with pretty much the same thing happening each day. Go to school, come home, train, pack extra things, and go to sleep. But today would be different, since the semester was officially over and they'd be leaving.

Instead of her and Rose diverging to go to their respective houses, they both walked to Kanao's apartment to meet up with the others.

"So? What's your place like?" The brunette turned her head from Kanao to the sky, not really minding that the other girl was silent. "It's your summer home, right? That sounds so cool…"

A few moments passed before Rose spoke again, this time more serious. "You're lucky, Kanao. To have such a kind family, and nice things. I don't think you know just how fortunate you are." She smiled, almost sadly.

_I know. I know how lucky I am. I'm grateful for everything that Shinobu and Kanae have done for me, even though I don't know why they did it. I shouldn't be alive, yet I am. I don't deserve that._ Kanao looks over at Rose, whose face is still staring upward. _You almost sounded like you knew what it's like to not have much when you said that. Is there something you're hiding?_

The two arrived at the house, Shinobu standing nearby. "Come on, the others are waiting." The three made their way to a car, the familiarity of the whole scene giving Kanao a sense of déjà vu. Inside were Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke, who seemed to be arguing over something. Rose immediately jumped into the fray. She just seems to enjoy that. Kanao climbed into the passenger seat next to Shinobu, who was driving.

They began the ride, with the others' argument shifting from whatever it was before to what kind of music they should play on the radio. Kanao didn't really care what kind, but she couldn't help but enjoy spectating them throwing their opinions out in the open, and wondering how they did it.

.

_An hour or two later…_

The butterfly estate came into view. It was designed to be a reference to the traditional aspect of Japan, so it was simple but elegant. Cherry blossom trees were scattered around the yard, which was covered in grass, stone sculptures, and small waterfalls, all of it enclosed with large walls. The mansion itself was light in colour, with dark wood accents and a black roof. Many trees lined the road, giving a sense of peaceful nature to the whole place.

Shinobu's lips upturned a little. While the estate was beautiful, it was sad. Kanae loved it there, she'd always be pestering Shinobu to go together. Looking behind her, she saw the four students looking at the place with awe. "Welcome to the butterfly estate. Your new training has begun."

_TTTTT_

**Author's note was up there. See you next week, and apologies for writing this chapter late.**


	19. XIX: Games

**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.**

**XIX: Games**

"Alright!" Aoi stood firmly in front of the five Demon Slayers, who were lined up in a row.

"Your rehabilitation training has begun. While Kanao has already done all this before," She turned her head briefly towards the raven-haired girl, "She still needs to participate in some way. This means that you'll be going up against her, along with the triplets and myself, in these games."

The Training Games: Being just what they sound like, these are stations across the training room of the butterfly estate. Each one will prove to strengthen the person's precision, speed, and skill, and rehabilitate them, all while being without weapon drills or anything else that the academy already teaches.

Aoi had already said those exact words, and furthermore explained the games themselves to the participants.

Once she was done with her speech, Kanao moved over to the side of the room where Shinobu was standing. "Looking for something to do while the others try to be good enough to beat you?" The purple-haired girl smirked. "You could run a station, you know."

Kanao nodded and headed off, taking that as an order.

Shinobu's smile faded as her adoptive sister turned her back. She's seen Kanao come up with ideas that were innovative and incredible, and having the coin just be a confirmation for them, a go-ahead of sorts. The plans themselves were hers, while the coin was simply a yes or no to the thoughts. _I wonder what she'd be like if she wasn't restricted by, well, herself. Probably one of our finest Demon Slayers. It'll take years though, for her to break out of her past and start seeing life as something beautiful. _

"Hey, Shinobu?"

The girl turned her head, Aoi coming into her vision. "Yes?"

"Are you going to stay here? Don't you have work?"

"Oh, right." Shinobu began getting her things together, sneaking one last glance at Kanao before she left the training room, the raven-haired girl playing a version of 'Tag' with a few of the other students. She dodged, ducked, and rolled out of the way of hands trying to reach her, already knowing precisely what she was doing since countless times she had practiced like that before.

She knew what she was doing, because she was practically ordered to do those drills as much as she could. Shinobu felt bad about it, since she was taking advantage of Kanao needing orders to do things. She knew this, and yet she didn't hesitate much to send orders flying in the girl's direction. Even Shinobu herself wasn't sure why she did it.

Ducking out of the room, she sighed and made her way outside. She had a job to do today.

.

"Kanao, how are you so good at this?" Zenitsu whined from his spot on the floor. They blonde boy had basically collapsed after 'too much running around'.

"That's true, you seem really comfortable. I know you've done this stuff before, but wow." Tanjiro added. While he wasn't on the floor like his fellow student, he seemed a bit tired.

They had all gone through the activities, Kanao easily defeating everyone else. Although, the whole point of the rehabilitation is to get better with reflexes, stamina and the like, so it makes sense to go up against someone who is more skilled than you.

"I want to go to bed…" Rose, like Zenitsu, was facedown on the floor and groaning. "I thought this was going to be more… I dunno, _relaxing…"_

Inosuke, meanwhile, didn't seem to have figured out that the group was taking a short break and was still dashing to each activity, yelling as he did. He wasn't actually getting much done. "Watch me, Gonpachiro! I'm going to get really strong then fight you!"

"Gonpachiro" looked mildly annoyed, as if that same situation has happened several times before and he just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Oh wait. It has happened before.

"Inosuke, how many times do I need to tell you that it's 'Tanjiro'?"

"Sure thing, Kentaro!"

From the ground, Rose and Zenitsu were clearly trying not to laugh at poor Tanjiro, who pretty much gave up. Kanao watched with silent amusement, before she went to get Aoi to call everyone back into action. Her adoptive little sister was better at that kind of thing than she was.

"Alright, cut the chatter! Break time's off, get back to your stations!"

Everyone collectively groaned, but went back to work at their rehabilitation.

.

_A few days of this later…_

"Tanjiro? Why are you the only one here?" Aoi raised an eyebrow. He _was_ doing the best out of the others in her opinion, but that didn't mean the others don't get to come.

"They all quit, basically. I've been trying to convince them to come back, but they haven't agreed yet." He sighed. "I'm still here though, so please train me the best you can!"

Anyone could see his clear as day determination. For Kanao, it was almost inspiring. She watched quietly as he did all the stations, then walked up to her. "Hey Kanao. Let's go at it again, shall we?"

She nodded. Really, she did want him to get better.

.

"So what you're saying is, practice is the only thing I can do?"

Kanao just turned her head to the side, the answer obvious.

Tanjiro had asked her, after a training session, how she got so good. Sure, she did have a few small strategies. That doesn't mean, however, that they'd automatically click and start working for Tanjiro. So all she recommended was extra practice.

"Hm, well, thanks. I'll get to it." He smiled.

.

Kanao paced the edges of the yard, turning her head to look at the other four training. Somehow, Tanjiro had convinced them to start working again.

It looked like fun. Lots of enthusiasm and cheering. Lips upturned, she took out her coin and flipped it.

_I can't wait to go and-_

Heads.

Lowering her head, she walked away. She had some solo drills to do.

.

Cups set on the table and Tanjiro as her opponent. The two swiftly covered the tops of different cups, this being reflex training. The quicker and more accurate you are, the better you are.

Narrowing her eyes, Kanao tried again and again to be faster than the boy across from her, but she couldn't seem to get past his blocks. He must have been practicing a lot.

Suddenly, a weight was on her head. It took her a moment to realize that instead of splashing her with the tea like you should be doing, Tanjiro had placed the cup on top of her head. He looked kind of confused too, but explained. "I don't want to throw this hot tea onto Kanao, I already know how it feels and it's not fun to clean up afterwards-"

As he went on, Kanao blushed. Did he actually care whether or not she had tea thrown on her? It was part of training, and she had done it to him more times than she could count. How was it fair that he didn't do the same to her?

"_You're my friend, Kanao."_

She took the cup off of her head and placed it back on the table. Looks like she needed to start training again.

.

Soon enough, new missions were announced.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were to be sent on a mission with Rengoku, a skilled hashira that would lead and teach them.

Rose, due to personal circumstances Kanao didn't know, had to go to her home and therefore wasn't given a mission.

Kanao's assignment was to be announced, herself supposedly having to report to Shinobu to receive details.

Wanting some time alone to think over everything, she went to the porch in the backyard. It was calm and peaceful there, with little distraction. One of her favourite spots. She wasn't sure how many minutes passed, but eventually a certain boy turned the corner.

"There you are, Kanao. Shinobu told me you might be here." Tanjiro sat down next to her. "I'm just here to say goodbye, we're heading out. Thanks for everything!"

She couldn't tell why, but she could feel a cold hand around her heart, like an ice fortress was being built. She didn't… want to separate? Before she came here, she had decided with her coin to speak to anyone who may want to say their goodbyes. "There's no need for you to thank me, all I did was follow my orders. Goodbye." She didn't know the words came out of her mouth, she could only try to register the whirlwind of emotion that had suddenly appeared.

"Yeah, goodbye." He replied.

Some awkward silence, although Kanao was used to that happening to her. It did fluster Tanjiro a bit though.

Taking out her coin, she turned it around and around between her fingers. There wasn't much reason behind it, but it calms her nerves.

"What is that for, anyway?" Tanjiro was curious, leaning forward a bit so she could see the object better. "I mean, I know you flip it a lot, but why?"

"Goodbye." This was a subject she didn't like to talk about. Even with Tanjiro, who she's spoken with before and nothing went wrong. It was painful to think about.

"... I'm sorry if it's a touchy subject. Just curious, is all."

She closed her eyes tight, then opened them and flipped her coin. It didn't matter if she didn't like to talk about it. He deserved to know, after so long. _Tails._

"This coin was given to me for when I don't have orders. When I need to make a decision on my own, I flip it. The outcome tells me what I do. Just now, I made the choice to answer your question, heads being 'don't answer', and tails being 'answer'." She waited for him to laugh, to taunt her, just like everyone else who knew what her coin did. Only the members of the butterfly estate didn't make fun of her.

But all he asked was, "Why not decide for yourself? What did you want to do, Kanao?"

"... It doesn't matter." Her opinions, her thoughts, her feelings. None of them are-

"I don't think there's anything in this world that doesn't matter." He grinned. "Hey, can I borrow that for a second?"

The question was unexpected, and she felt anxious about giving it to him, but she complied. "Sure."

Tanjiro took the coin, running out towards the yard. "Let's use this to decide!"

"Decide what?" She called. Now she was quite confused.

"Whether or not," He played around with the coin, flipping it between his hands, "You should listen hard to the voice in your heart from now on. How about… heads, let's make it heads!"

Eyes wide, Kanao watched as he flipped the coin high into the air. He'd bother doing that for her? Trying to… help her?

"_Your eyes are sad. Please smile."_

He stumbled around the yard. "Wait, where is it?" She almost wanted to laugh, but the voice in her head beat her down. _Stupid girl. You were made for labour, nothing else. Earn us money, not 'feelings'. _

It came down, and he managed to catch it. "I got it! I got it, Kanao! Okay, let's see what it is…"

She didn't realize she was holding her breath. Never seeing it when it came down, she couldn't tell what the outcome was. But deep down inside, she prayed it was-

"Heads! It's heads!" Tanjiro smiled brightly, laughing. Then, quick as lightning, he ran back over and grabbed Kanao's hand, making her gasp. "Good luck, Kanao." She felt her cheeks redden, but also felt oddly happy. "It's the heart that guides people, not belongings. No matter what, just remember that." He placed the coin between her fingers, standing up straight and beginning to turn. "I really should be going though. See you again soon!" With that, he began to run away. But she still had a question.

"H-how did you make it come up heads?" She shouted after him, for the first time in years raising her voice. He turned, the traces of his smile still not gone. "Just by chance. And even if it were tails, I would've kept flipping it over and over until it came up heads." She could see faint traces of pink on his cheeks. "Well, I'll see you around! We should go on more missions together!"

Too soon, he was around the corner and gone.

Left standing, Kanao took a moment to process what happened. She held as tightly as she could to the coin that still had traces of his warmth. Clutching it to her chest, she recalled something Kanae had told her, all those years ago.

"_When you fall in love with some boy one day, you'll change too, Kanao."_

Was she-? No. Even if she was, he wouldn't…

Uncertain, she sat back down on the porch. Memories whirled through her mind, each one reminding her of the same thing. Hiding together for the last bit of Final Selection, checking injuries inside the mansion on their first assignment, sitting on the wisteria house rooftop, going to the formal party and dancing, meeting at the hospital, so much more.

Now this was an issue. One that no coin or set of orders could fix. Because Kanao Tsuyuri may or may not be in love with Tanjiro Kamado.

_TTTTT_

**Whoop whoop, she realized it! Or rather, she's in the denial stages. I'm a fan of slow burn, but I'm also a fan of not taking 50-or-so chapters just to realize (or not realize) your crush. And yet I **_**also**_ **like writing ship scenes? Hm…**

**I'm sorry. School has started back up for me, and on top of that I got a new job over the summer. Between that and everything else that's going on in my life, I often can't figure out when to update. I absolutely **_**hate**_** having to make you guys wait for chapters though, so I decided to attempt to keep the weekly uploads. If I don't update one day (either Saturday or Sunday), then the next week I'll absolutely try to. I'm reading many stories that release one chapter every few months, and I don't want to be like that.**

**Anyways, since I feel terrible, I wrote quite a long chapter. I loved writing my semi-recreation of the basically iconic episode 26 scene from the anime, it'd help me to know what you think though (-cough cough- Review. -cough cough-)**

**With that, I'll see you either in one or two weeks from now!**


	20. Holiday Special

**(Long A/N coming your way)**

**Guess who's back, back again…**

**Three months. Three freakin' months. I lost track of time. That's kinda the understatement of the decade. "See you in one or two weeks from now" my foot. Thanks to DarkAster945 for reminding me that I was taking **_**far**_** too long writing.**

**Life happens, I guess. School wants to kill me, and so does my job. I mean I guess now that I'm on Christmas Break, I can spend a bit more of my time mindlessly attempting to write. That's another thing, I suppose. Don't hate me, but I haven't really been into Demon Slayer much lately. Falling out of the fandom, you know? Doesn't help that the manga is over as well.**

**I'm really sorry, and you shouldn't count on me to be consistent. I hate myself for it, but I definitely will have more of a sporadic schedule. That's kinda why I made this so incredibly long, as some sort of apology.**

**Holiday Special Time. Note that this IS NOT canon to the actual story as of yet (unless you want it to be, then go ahead). I mean, it's not even the right season in the canon timeline at the moment. Also, this is being based off of my typical Christmas traditions (I'm Canadian, by the way) and not off of Japan's version of the holiday. I just don't want to get something wrong if my research isn't actually factual. Also there is snow, because that's a necessary plot point.**

**This little set of 8 one shots/drabbles can take place pretty much anywhere you want, if you feel like making this story canon. Just note that Kanao hasn't realized she is crushing on Tanjiro yet (and vice versa). Some of these shots are kinda long, some are really short. They are all ideally 8 consecutive days, with **_**"Blizzards and Blankets" **_**being the day of the 24th.**

**On with the special, which is your (slightly late) gift from me! **

_TTTTT_

_/-/ Memories_

.

Kanao sat up straight on the couch in her apartment, flipping through the channels on the T.V. as per Shinobu's request to find that one show her sister always liked watching.

Aoi dashed into the room out of nowhere and _jumped_ onto the couch next to Kanao. "Hey, Kanao! Guess what?"

The raven-haired girl tilted her head in question. Aoi seemed overly excited, and had been all week. It was a bit odd.

"It's Christmas soon! In…" The younger girl counted on her fingers for a moment. "Eight days! Are you ready yet? I mean, I guess eight whole days isn't really that soon…"

Kanao shrugged. She _was_ pretty much ready, as she had all the plans for her gifts and simply had to go out to buy them, but she didn't really see any reason to get so excited. Whenever it was Christmas with her… _other_ family, the only present she got was a minute or two off her total working time. And really, that was being rather generous. She didn't have much reason to like the holiday. Everyone else seemed to love it though. Of course, this wasn't her first Christmas with Shinobu and the others.

_The first time, she had sat there bewildered as beautifully-wrapped gifts were presented to her. She didn't even open them until she was practically ordered to by Shinobu. Kanae had taken a more gentle approach, encouraging and even helping the raven-haired girl open a few of the presents. Most of them, as expected, were supplies and decoration for her room. She was new to the house, after all. She'd need some necessities before she could have anything extra. Not that she'd even want 'extra'._

_After everyone opened their gifts, they sat down on the couch and watched rather unrealistic and corny holiday movies. Kanao didn't even watch the T.V. though. She was focused on the strange feeling of warmth and safety that spread throughout her like wildfire. Was this what it felt like to be loved and wanted? All her life, she never expected to be taken care of. Fending for herself was the only way she could stay alive, as her parents wouldn't give two cents about her as a person. They saw her as a tool, as a machine._

_What did Kanae and Shinobu see in her? Why didn't they walk by, ignoring the small and malnourished girl like everyone else did?_

_The girl decided that it didn't really matter at the moment, and burrowed deeper into the blanket they all shared. This feeling of comfort was enough for now. She never wanted to let it go._

"Kanao? Hello?"

The raven-haired girl blinked. Aoi was waving a hand in front of her eyes rather comically. "Oh, you're back. I was just talking about what I should get Shinobu this year. What'd you end up with?"

And so they talked (well, _talked_ is a bit of a loose term. It's more like Aoi firing questions away, while Kanao answered with the help of her coin) about what gifts they were getting for the other members of the family (was she supposed to call them her family? She didn't want to be… nevermind). It was almost fun for Kanao to debate things like whether or not Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho should all have one collective present or if they each get one of their own. They should probably each get their own...

.

_/-/ Late night calls_

_(this one isn't really a _Christmas_ story per se, but I decided to throw it in here. This is something I wrote a little while ago for this story, but it never got placed in a chapter because I couldn't figure out where it should go. There are also a few things here that aren't exactly in the main story yet, such as Kanao having Tanjiro's contact. Yes, I was planning on writing that at some point.)_

.

Sleep didn't come too easily to Kanao.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw things she didn't want to. Her parents, battles she had long since fought and won but still couldn't get out of her head, Kanae's grave. The list went on and on. The dreamless nights were scarce, and the nights with good dreams scarcer. It seemed nightmares always found her.

Tonight seemed like one of those nights. Kanao closed her eyes and drifted off anyway. She couldn't just stay up all night. She's already tried that and if anything it made the nightmares worse when she couldn't stay awake any longer.

_She was hiding in a tree again. It was Final Selection, probably the fifth or sixth day. Her ankle was sprained, but she hasn't been caught by that mafia member yet. Everything hurt, but Kanao could feel the adrenaline racing through her veins to help her keep going. Still, she couldn't help but feel helpless._

_Something was wrong though. The raven-haired girl glanced down to the base of her tree, where a regular stranger should have been standing. Instead, she saw Tanjiro there. She tried to cry out, but both her memories and her dream stopped her from alerting the boy below. She knew exactly what happened in reality to that poor stranger. Now it would happen to her frien- to Tanjiro._

_A mafia member crept up to the boy, staying in his blind spot. Tanjiro only saw the man when it was too late. He tried to pull out one of his knives, but was quickly disarmed before he could. The man pinned Tanjiro to the trunk of the tree, then looked up directly at Kanao. "See, you little bitch? You can't save anyone. You can't do anything right, for that matter. Not even save yourself."_

_He pointed the barrel of his gun at the side of Tanjiro's head. The boy was breathing shakily, seeming to have given up hope. No, that couldn't be right. He never gave up. Kanao always saw it. No matter how many times he failed, he'd get right back up and try again. It was one of the things she liked about him best. _

_To see him barely even trying to struggle made a cold hand close on her heart. She tried to do something, to _move_, but she was frozen in place. _

"_Say goodbye to your little friend. Don't worry though, you'll join him soon enough." The man smirked with malice, and pulled the trigger._

_Suddenly, Kanao could move. She drew her pistol and Kanae's knife, then leapt to the ground. Landing on her good foot and tucking into a roll, she stood up and instantly took aim. The man was already getting away, and she shot at him a few times. She did end up grazing him, but that was all she seemed to be able to do._

_She slowly turned to Tanjiro, who she knew was dead as soon as the trigger of that gun was pulled. Her shaking hands dropped her weapons to the rough ground, and only moments later her knees followed, hitting the cold and damp terrain as well. _

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…

_She silently murmured the words, not able to actually speak. What else was there to say? She couldn't- no - _didn't_ save him. _

_The cocking of a gun behind her head briefly startled her, but she decided that she didn't care. She just wanted to be done. The shot rang out and she felt herself falling forwards, everything going black and numb._

Kanao sat up, breathing uneven and shallow. Without really thinking, she took her phone from the bedside table and opened it to Tanjiro's contact. Her finger hovered over the 'Call' button. She shouldn't though. He had to be asleep, since (checking the time) it was about 12:30 in the morning.

She sighed, setting the phone down. As soon as she did, it quietly began to ring. Confused, she saw that Tanjiro was the one calling. She took out her coin and flipped it quickly, then pressed 'Answer' on the screen when the results read 'Tails'.

"Kanao? Are you safe?" He sounded worried.

Confused, the raven-haired girl chose with her coin to talk for the rest of the call. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

A sigh of relief. "Nothing. Bad dream, I guess. It's not important."

"Do you… want to talk about it?" So he had a nightmare as well? That was odd.

"It's just…" He sighed. "I was back at Final Selection and watched you die. That's all. I wanted to know if you were okay, so I called."

Her eyes widened slightly. _We had the same dream, but our places are swapped._ "Don't worry, I'm fine."

They talked about nothing and everything into the long hours of the night. Kanao chose not to tell Tanjiro of her similar nightmare. Hearing his voice through the phone on that snowy evening and knowing he's okay was enough.

_._

_/-/ Stores filled with everything except what you're looking for (based on a true story)_

.

"Here too? No way…"

Aoi and Kanao were out shopping for gifts. They were just about done, with Aoi finished and Kanao just needing to find her gift for Tanjiro. She was planning on getting him this one painting she saw online (she won't admit it, but she instantly thought of him when she saw it). The only issue is it seemed to be sold out everywhere. It _was_ fairly new, so she didn't have much surprise. That didn't mean it wasn't annoying though.

"Alright, let's go to store number 5." Aoi sighed, leading the way through the giant mall the two chose to go to for the gift shopping.

Naturally, store number 5 didn't have anything. Hooray. Scrolling through the rapidly shrinking list of shops she could still look at, Kanao quietly sighed. Selecting the one at the top of the list, she and Aoi began the hike to their 6th store.

Much, _much_ time later, the two finally found a place (store number 12) that had the painting in albeit low stock. It was about two minutes to closing time, so they had to hurry, but they did manage to get it in time. Exhausted from wandering around the entire day but glad they finally had everything they needed, Kanao and Aoi headed home.

Once they got there, Kanao went straight to her room to lie down while Aoi explained to Shinobu why the two of them were so late coming back. Overall though, it wasn't considered a bad day by either of the girls. In fact, it was kind of entertaining when they thought back on it.

.

_/-/ Advice (sort of)_

.

"You got the gift?" Zenitsu questioned.

Kanao nodded, holding up the box she had neatly wrapped earlier that day.

"Alright. So what you're gonna want to do is make a card to go with it. You have to make sure it matches your wrapping paper, but it also needs lots of romantic-"

Kanao raised an eyebrow in surprise as Rose tackled him. "You will _not_ tell her before she realizes it! This situation is delicate!"

"Will _you_ please be a bit more delicate?!" Zenitsu whined. "Besides, it's so obvious that she's in love with-"

"Nope, no talking! Inosuke, you mind getting that roll of duct tape out of my bag?"

Kanao, in the meantime, wondered if she _should_ make a card. It wasn't a bad idea.

.

_/-/ Baking supplies_

_(It's been so long, I forget if the triplets call people 'Miss' and 'Mr' or not. It'd be helpful to just read the manga again, but I cancelled my Shonen Jump subscription and that's a pain to get going again sometimes. Just because, I assumed they do add formalities when addressing others.)_

.

"Miss Kanao, let's make cookies!" Naho called, clearly excited. "We're going to surprise Miss Shinobu!"

Kanao nodded, unconsciously taking the sort-of question as an order. She turned from where she was absently staring out the window at the city below, and followed the younger girl to the kitchen. Kiyu, Sumi, and Aoi were all sitting at the table already. Supposedly Shinobu was on some sort of mission. At least that'd give them time.

Wait, did any of them _know_ how to make cookies?

Aoi seemed to have read her mind. "So, um, I guess we just search up a recipe, right?" She pulled out her phone and started typing.

Meanwhile, the triplets along with Kanao were searching the cupboards for possible ingredients. Sugar, flour, salt, eggs, milk… cooking oil probably also counted. Kanao furrowed her brow. Was yeast for bread, or was it for cookies…? Maybe it was for cake or something else as well? She placed the packet on the counter anyway, thinking it wouldn't do too much damage.

Aoi groaned, all but tossing her phone onto the table. "I think our internet's out. I can't seem to get a signal. We can probably just eyeball the ingredients though…" She trailed off, tone slightly uncertain.

They all stood around for a bit, ingredients still sitting on the counter. Sumi finally broke the silence. "We should at least try, this is for Miss Shinobu after all." It was still rather nerve-wracking, considering it was usually Shinobu or Kanae who would bake, with one or two of the others helping out occasionally.

Agreeing, the five got to work on what they hoped would be the best batch of cookies in the world (as said by Kiyo).

.

The baking didn't exactly go well for the girls. At all, in fact.

It all started when there was confusion among them about how many cookies they were actually making. Kanao thought they were going to make about 10, Aoi thought 25, and the triplets thought somewhere around 15, 20, and 30 respectively. As such, the different ratios of all the ingredients were… interesting at best. But since none of them have really made cookies alone before, nobody knew that it wasn't right to have 5 cups of sugar and 2 cups of flour.

The next piece of chaos happened when Naho tried (and basically succeeded) to drink a bit of the vanilla extract. She then had to run to the sink and drink water straight from the tap for a minute or so. Then Aoi attempted sneaking a spoonful of cinnamon (wait, why were they even _using_ cinnamon?) into her mouth. She would've gotten away with it if she hadn't spat it out immediately afterwards, cringing from the bad feeling in her mouth.

"Hey Aoi, I found an empty container in the cupboard. Uh, it says 'Baking Soda'. Is that important in cookies?" Sumi turned her head to the side in confusion, eyeing the container curiously.

"Probably is, but we're out. 'Baking _Soda_', was it? How about we use regular soda?" Aoi turned to Kanao for confirmation, who just shrugged. Taking that as a _'sure, why not?'_, they poured half a can of soda into the mixing bowl with everything else.

Arguably the easiest part was scooping up the batter (despite the wacky proportions, it wasn't actually too powdery or too liquidy) and placing it onto a pan they found.

Of course, they had no clue how long the 'batter' should go in the oven for. Eventually they decided on half an hour, which at least didn't burn the house down by the time it was done baking.

The main issue was that the cookies they attempted to make weren't exactly _cookies_. Unless you count the extremely brittle and odd-looking lumps that were on the pan.

The five stared down at the pan dumbfounded until Shinobu came back from wherever she was before and approached them. After a bit of "You really shouldn't have done that" talk, Shinobu simply laughed and said they could all make a proper batch of cookies together, with an actual recipe this time. It seems the girls completely forgot about the cookbooks that were sitting on a nearby shelf the entire time.

.

_/-/ Training drills and musical scores_

_(apologies if this isn't Christmas-y enough either, read what I said for one shot #2.)_

.

Kanao was back in the training room, firing a few rounds into a target. Even though there weren't any missions that she knew of at the moment, and for that matter it was the holiday season anyway, she couldn't just stop training. Once you stop something for too long, it's difficult to pick back up.

Her hair, instead of being in her trademark ponytail, was braided neatly across the back of her head and over her shoulder. She should probably trim it at some point as it was getting rather long. Strands of the braid fell out and brushed gently across her neck as she swiftly turned to each of her targets.

She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Shinobu. Taking off her noise-cancelling headphones (gunshots were quite loud, after all), she tilted her head slightly in curiosity at her adoptive sister.

"Come with me, there's something else I'd like to possibly teach to you. You shouldn't be down here training right now anyway. Relax for a while, who knows when you'll be able to again." Shinobu smiled faintly, and led Kanao towards her room. It wasn't often that the raven-haired girl was in there, so she assumed it was likely something important.

Shinobu's room couldn't be described as anything other than stylish. The room had a black and white theme, with splashes of varying shades of purple scattered about. Now that she thought about it, Kanao supposed that every room in the apartment had a totally different style. It was interesting, and gave her a sense of _home_ no matter which personality-filled space she was in.

Her adoptive sister led her to a closet, where a black case rested against the back wall. Shinobu pulled out the case and opened it, revealing a polished wooden violin. "Here, take it out of the case."

Kanao met her eyes in silent question, but all she got was "Just do it, I'll tell you why in a minute".

Once the sleek instrument was properly placed in her hands, Shinobu handed her a matching bow. "I'm just going to teach you some basics." Confused but complying, Kanao listened to Shinobu as she carefully placed the bow on the strings.

Kanao didn't know it at the time, but she would continue those lessons for a long time. Shinobu never did tell her why she chose to give the violin to her. Somehow, she thought Kanae would've had something to do with it. That's just how the woman was.

.

_/-/ An outing with friends_

.

"Hey, it's snowing!"

The group (consisting of Kanao, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Rose) was going for some sort of walk/hike in the park. They hadn't really been able to spend that much time together, so they all collectively decided to do an activity.

Tanjiro had pointed out the small white flakes falling from the sky. There was already quite a bit of snow on the ground to begin with, as there had been consistent patterns of snowfall over the past few days. The park was cold, but a lovely sight in winter.

Kanao enjoyed the scene. It was one of those little things in life that wasn't anything important, but made it just a little bit more beautiful. She surveyed the area, shivering a little from the crisp air but not really caring.

She wasn't paying attention to the others, who were in mild chaos.

Inosuke, at some point, had balled up a bit of the snow on the ground and thrown it at an unsuspecting Tanjiro. "Take this, Tangoro!"

The snowball hit the other boy in the back, making him turn instantly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Fight me!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Suddenly, another snowball whizzed by Tanjiro's head. "Wha- who threw that?!" He turned in the other direction. Rose and Zenitsu were pointing at each other in blame, while Kanao was standing off to the side examining the landscape.

"I don't even care who actually threw it, you're _both_ getting snowballs in the face." Tanjiro scooped up some snow and started shaping them.

"Excuse me? It was _her_! I thought you were my friend, Tanjiro!" Zenitsu dashed behind a tree as Tanjiro threw the snowball with precision at him.

"Nope, it was you Zenitsu! I won't let you pin the blame on me!" Rose took her own bit of snow and threw it in the blonde boy's direction just as Tanjiro threw his second snowball at her.

Inosuke, in the meantime, was building an entire snow fortress to protect himself. Frankly, he was doing really well. He also had already made a large stack of snowballs, which was scary considering the short amount of time he had to _make_ said stack. "All of you are _dead_, I'm the master of snow wars!"

The three slowly turned and simultaneously started running as Inosuke threw snowball after snowball at them all. "Guys, we need to take _him_ down first! Then we can fight each other!" Tanjiro explained.

"Fine by me!" Rose peeked out from behind a tree.

"What's the plan?" Zenitsu was unsurprisingly hiding behind Tanjiro.

"We need to storm him from all directions. I'll go middle, Rose can go left, Zenitsu can go right." Tanjiro then made a few more snowballs and started running. "Come on!"

As the three of them attempted to flank Inosuke and his fort, Kanao finally turned around. She almost laughed at the sight of them, but cut herself off. She still couldn't really… do it. Not without bringing back bad memories.

She pulled out her coin and flipped it. Okay, so she'd be joining them on their little 'quest'. Making sure to stay hidden and be quiet, the raven-haired girl scooped up some snow and dashed from tree to tree.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Rose were all firing snowballs at the fort and at Inosuke to no avail. The boy was laughing, at least until he got hit directly in the head with something. A snowball?

Everyone turned to look at Kanao, who had _climbed a tree_ while carrying snow in order to snipe out Inosuke. The funniest part was probably the fact that she looked grim and determined, like some kind of actual war was going on. Then, she smiled a little.

It was only a tiny smirk, but Tanjiro felt happy that she was enjoying herself. He knew that her minimal expressions could actually mean the biggest emotions, and that she rarely ever smiled. He could still clearly remember that day so long ago at a certain crosswalk on a busy street in the city, where he first met the girl whose amethyst eyes told a sad story.

"- Tanjiro, you in there?" He blinked. Zenitsu was poking him in the shoulder. "Yes, I'm 'in here'. What is it?" He responded.

The blonde boy simply pointed to a spot behind Tanjiro. He turned, only to get a face full of snow. Shockingly, it was none other than Kanao who threw the snowball. She still had that small smirk, but the eyes he was thinking about earlier shone with amusement rather than sadness. Tanjiro couldn't really help but laugh. "Oh, it's _on. _You shouldn't have messed with me, Kanao!" He balled up snow and began throwing it at her.

"Guess this is a true, chaotic snowball fight then. Let the war _truly_ begin!" Rose ended her little speech by throwing two snowballs, one at Zenitsu and one at Inosuke (who was still recovering his pride from Kanao's hit).

"Rose, why?! I'm cold enough as is!" Zenitsu counterattacked with snowballs of his own. Inosuke did the same.

Hours later, the five returned to their respective homes with pink faces and freezing hands. They were all happy though, so the almost-frostbite was okay with them.

.

_/-/ Blizzards and blankets_

_The finale of this collection, containing the most Tanjiro x Kanao content. And a teeny bit of ooc stuff, so apologies for that._

.

"Did… did we really just get snowed in?" Tanjiro asked, dumbfounded by this point.

Kanao shook her head, shrugging. She was about done with the sheer number of times that they kept getting stuck together in the weirdest situations.

Such as this situation.

A little while earlier, Tanjiro and Kanao had arrived at D.S. Academy in order to do some volunteer-type work. Just a few hours prior, they had to head outside and into a not-so-nearby portable classroom (for the regular students, it seemed. There wasn't anything irregular inside, so that made the most sense) to organize and clean. Why there was a portable classroom so far out from the regular school, neither had any clue. Probably some type of nature or science class would be going on in there, where the students would be in natural surroundings to study.

Thanks to the raging blizzard that started outside while they were still cleaning, and the distance it would've taken to walk all the way back to the school in said blizzard, the two decided that they should probably just wait out the storm inside the classroom.

That certainly didn't mean they were fine with it. The small building, despite the little space heaters already plugged in and running, was getting increasingly freezing. Even for the two being used to such temperatures with Tanjiro having lived in the mountains and Kanao having lived… well, quite literally _nowhere_, the decreasing climate was taking its toll on the two.

Kanao sat in one of the chairs shivering, wrapping her arms around herself like she did when she was younger. The last time she was like this was a time she didn't want to think about, but her mind wanted her to see anyway.

"_Winter isn't a damn excuse to do nothing but sit there, get moving! You will work until you collapse!" And collapse, she did. Kanao's tiny body simply fell sideways while she was trying to fetch firewood in a snowstorm. Her parents eventually did find her, laying there in the snow, freezing but unable to slip into unconsciousness. But they didn't comfort the girl once they picked her up and brought her home. No, they yelled at her for "Falling asleep" on the job. She was staring ahead into nothingness as a shadow came up behind her and-_

Wrapped a blanket around her shoulders?

Kanao went stiff in surprise, turning to see a sympathetic Tanjiro still holding the corners of the sheet. "You had that look in your eyes again. And, um, you looked cold so-"

Before Kanao really knew what she was doing, she had thrown her arms around the boy. Maybe it was the cold getting to her head, maybe she was shaken by the brief flashback she was having and needed comfort from someone she could trust. Either way, she didn't even realize that she hadn't used her coin. She was shaking, but not only from the crisp air around the two.

Tanjiro glanced down in shock. This was probably the most emotion Kanao had ever expressed, although he wasn't entirely sure what said emotion _was_. But that didn't matter. He embraced her back, noticing that she had unconsciously given him some of the blanket. They stayed like that for a while, even as Kanao finally realized what she had done and was silently panicking.

Why wasn't Tanjiro pushing her away? For that matter, he seemed to have accepted her, for lack of better words, hug. She should step back, it was probably confusing for him. All he did was give her a blanket, after all. Nothing special. She couldn't though. Being in his arms gave her the feeling of warmth, safety and comfort that she had sorely lacked all her life. She wouldn't- probably _couldn't_ \- step back into the cold and more than occasionally cruel world. Not yet.

So they stayed like that, in the comforting silence, until the blizzard slowly stopped and a soft snowfall took its place. Even then, the two waited as long as possible before finally separating and beginning to pack up the supplies they had taken with them. Neither said a word the whole time, as they simply didn't need to.

Actions were worth a thousand words, after all.

_._

_/-/ End_

_._

_TTTTT_

**And there you have it folks. Have a Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate Christmas have a lovely Holidays.**

**See you around.**


End file.
